


Everything I Do

by PrincessStark



Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Iron Man (Movies), Iron Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor (Movies), Thor - All Media Types
Genre: "should have been a boy", Alternate Reality, Daddy Issues, Duo POV, F/F, F/M, Female Tony Stark, Historical References, Hydra, M/M, Marveland, Multi, POV Alternating, Toni Stark - Freeform, Tony Stark Has Daddy Issues, Underage Drinking, Underage Drug Use, alternate United States history, concealed identities, female!Tony, girl!tony, multi story plots, princess bride elements, princess diaries elements, skewed reality, stay tuned, using Lyndsy Fonseca face for Toni
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-15
Updated: 2015-06-29
Packaged: 2018-04-04 08:35:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Underage
Chapters: 7
Words: 46,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4131234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrincessStark/pseuds/PrincessStark
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Not one couple in a century has the chance of true happiness, no matter what the story books say, but Steve and Toni do. When the Princess of Marveland discovers that the only man she's ever loved isn't dead after all, what does this mean for her pending nuptials? Moreover, what does this mean for the future of her monarchy?</p><p>Update: 6/26/15--> If you haven't seen the cover art for the story, it's on the prologue! I hope you like!<br/>Update: 6/6/16 -- I'm back and ready to give more to this story! The next chapter is on it's way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A princess asks her parents to tell her a story when they are laying her down to bed.

“Daddy, tell me a story.”

The Queen stood in the doorway with a smile on her lips watching as her husband tucked their daughter into bed. The scene warmed her soul. Their daughter was the perfect mix of the two of them. Long, dark hair and bright blue eyes. A heart of gold and a spirit fueled by the fires that forged the world. The Queen loved her family and the life they had together. She would never give them up for anything.

“What story would you like me to tell, princess?” Their daughter was a princess, but the Queen’s husband still liked calling her that. She was a princess in her father’s eyes even without the title bestowed on her by her birth. It was the way he looked at life that the Queen loved most about him. The way he saw her was unlike anyone ever, and it had been from the moment they’d met.

“The Captain and the Queen!”

The Queen smiled as her husband turned his gaze up to where she stood in the doorway watching them. He returned her smiled gently, his eyes turning back to their daughter. “Of course.”

The little girl turned to where her daddy had been looking. “Mama tell too! Mama tell too!”

The Queen pushed herself off the doorway and into the room more. “Mama too, Angel?” The little girl nodded her head and the Queen sat on the bed opposite of her husband on the other side of her daughter. “Alright then. How does it begin again?”

Shaking his head, the Queen’s husband chuckled at her. “Why don’t you remind your mother, princess?”

The little girl’s eyes lit up having been asked to start the story. It was her favorite, and for good reason too. “Mama!” She giggled at her mama’s ridiculousness. “I’ll start!” She patted down the blanket on her lap and looking between her parents, she cleared her throat just because she could. “Once upon a time a little girl lived in a shining castle.” She nudged her mama. “Your turn. Your turn.”

The Queen smiled at her little girl, shaking her head softly. “Thank you, sweetheart.” The young princess beamed, proud of herself and the Queen continued on with the story. “Even though this little girl had everything her heart could desire, she wasn’t happy.”

Even with the sad beginning of the story, the little girl knew the story by heart and knew not to be saddened by it. “More! More!”

Laughing, her father resumed where his wife had left off. “Though there was one thing, one person in her life who did make her happy. Her best friend was a commoner who lived in her kingdom.” He smiled up at the Queen and then back at their daughter. “The two of them did everything together. Nothing could ever separate them.--”’

“Until the day the boy had to leave!” Their daughter interjected.

“Yes, princess. The two had fallen in love as they’d gotten older and the boy left to fight in the war the girl’s kingdom was fighting in across the seas.”

“Then he was kidnapped by pirates!”

Both the Queen and her husband laughed at their little girl. “That’s another story, sweetie,” the Queen told her earning a nod from her husband. “The girl was saddened to learn of the boy’s death and she vowed then never to love again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you'll continue reading! This story will no doubt be epic! I will be finishing this story, that is a promise. I hope you enjoyed this tiny teaser. It doesn't give you much, but it does set up a little of the plot. Please read and comment!


	2. Princess Toni Stark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Princess Toni Stark has everything her could heart desire, except the one thing it desires the most. Moving on with her life, she puts the needs of her kingdom above the pain of her heart and agrees to marriage to Loki of Asgard.

Antonia Stark was a beautiful young girl born from the great house of Stark. Elias Stark had been gifted the land from King George III of Great Britain as well as one of his daughter’s hands in marriage. After the revolutionists lost the war, Stark reigned over the land fairly and justly, despite the displeasure his people felt from the devastating loss.

New England did not remain a holding of the motherland for long. By the urging of the people, Stark led another revolt not more than ten years later, a lot of the soldiers who had fought in the original revolution falling under Elias Stark and fighting for the land they had hoped to live in freely. This time, the war was won, and even though they had originally fought never to live under a king’s rule again, the people all agreed unanimously to make Elias Stark their sovereign and ruler by naming him their King and pledging loyalty and allegiance to him and thus was the birth of Marveland.

It’s not something Toni Stark ever paid much attention to. This was her world, in more ways than one, and she liked it the way it was. Except there was one thing she didn’t like, but she couldn’t change that even if she’d wanted. She’d learned to live with the things that upset her in her life, like her father having wanted a boy and never getting one for one, but as for the one thing that left her heart closed off and never would be able to heal, she didn’t know how to live with it, she just did.

She could still rule her country though, according to her dead father’s wishes, that was. So a king had been on the throne since they had come here from England. So what? She was a girl and had just as great of a mind or better than all of her ancestors before her. The fact that she was a girl should have no bearing over how she rules her country. She’d been doing very well (with the assist of the council) ever since Obediah had been proved to be disloyal.

Obediah Stane had served as her father’s most trusted advisor and also keeper of the privy purse for the country, but thanks to a foul up in one of their defense contracts, Obediah’s deceit was revealed. Toni approached him directly and he was stripped of his title and holdings and exiled, being labeled a traitor to the crown, never to return to the Stark Kingdom ever again. That was five years ago.

After that, the council urged her to move forward toward her coronation. She was barely twenty-two years old now and though her father had decreed after not being able to produce a male heir that she be coronated on her twenty-fifth birthday. She was to be married at the time of coronation as well and produce an heir by the time she was twenty-six. Something had always seemed fishy about that to her, considering he was healthy enough and had no plans of dying. Her parents had been killed and it was ruled an accident. The more Toni thought about it as the years went by, she wasn’t so sure it actually was.

Toni was already pissed that all those stipulations had been set on her sovereignty just because she was a girl. Her father had told her that even if she had been born a boy, he would still have wanted his son to take a bride by the time he was 25 anyway. Oddly (or not so oddly), Toni noticed he hadn’t said that he would have also set a time limit on when any son he would have had should have children though. As it was, Toni was a girl and it was what it was.

Over the past few years since Obediah had been exiled, Toni had started thinking about her country more. She knew her partying and drinking had to stop, or at least not be such a public spectacle. She had made quite a exhibition of herself while she was just a young teenager cavorting around with Prince William and Harry of Great Britain. They had all been admonished for their actions. William had been looking for a wife at the time and quite a few tabloids speculated William would have asked Toni for her hand and the two nations would be reunited after more than two hundred and thirty years. Toni had scoffed at those rumors almost spitefully. She would have never married that prat, let alone given up her throne for him.

With Obediah out of the picture, the council pressured more and more for her to move up the coronation, and by extension, finding a suitable consort. She hated the word. Consort. It was as bad as mate or even partner. It lessened the meaning of the union. Though, even though she would have only ever been able to feel the love that a wife should feel for a husband for one person, she still never wanted to give that title or privilege to anyone else. No one else deserved it, or her, like _he_ ever had.

But that hadn’t been meant to be even before he left to fight in the Afghan War. He was a commoner, but he had chosen to fight in his country’s war. It went far deeper for him, though. She knew he had left for a far greater reason. Even if she hadn’t wanted him to go, and she could have easily forbade him from leaving, he had left because he wanted to serve his future Queen. She had never been more than his equal in both of their eyes, but title or not, she was the most important person in the world to him. He was gone now though and nothing could ever bring him back.

She hated this war. Yes, it had been her father who had sent their troops into Afghanistan after the Twin Towers had been attacked in Manhattan, not too far from where Stark Castle stood, but that didn’t mean she had to like it. They very well could have been heading toward the Castle with those planes, yet they’d both flown directly into the Trade Towers. The towers were barely 5 miles from the Castle, it would have been so easy for any of them to have flown just a bit north and the Castle would have been decimated, not to mention everyone in it.

It was less than a month later that Howard sent troops into Afghanistan. Toni remembered when her father made the announcement over live TV. She had been at her best friend Steve’s house (or rather his best friend’s house where he was living) watching. Her dad never seemed to care if she was around or not, and she always took a security detail with her, so she really was able to go anywhere she wanted, and she spent most of her days with her best friend.

She remembered how invigorated the look he gave her was when he turned and said he would join the army as soon as he could and he’d fight there with her father’s men. Steve’s own father had fought in the Gulf War and gave his life in the name of the King. Steve vowed to her that day that he would fight in Her name, and Toni, even though she found it endearing at the age of eight, would never allow it. There was no way her Steve could go out and fight in any war.

It wasn’t as though she didn’t love that he would pledge his loyalty and allegiance to her in that way or any way, but Steve wasn’t like every other boy in the world. With all his health issues, Toni wanted him nowhere near all of that. She had told him that she would rather him stay home with her and strategize. She had no mind for that, but she did like tinkering with different mechanical odds and ends. If her father or mother knew half the things she did (though she was sure the security detail or her driver told them everything), they probably would never let her out of the house.

Steve swore he would join the troops some day and she’d be proud of him. She swore, even at that tender age, she would always be proud of him. That didn’t even change when he left to fight in the war. She had known he was leaving and about ordered him to stay, but her advisor Pepper Potts had told her that Steve would be an asset in Her army. He wasn’t the sickly child he had once been, thanks to the doctor Toni hired for him. She had hated herself for enlisting Dr. Erskine for Steve’s care, but she couldn’t curse out either of them. Steve was all the way across the world and Erskine had died in a Hydra terrorist attack the day Steve had left.

Steve had written every day, when he wasn’t out on maneuvers, and Toni had written him at the end of every day and sometimes when she’d wake in the mornings. She always knew what his division was doing every single day, until the day he had been taken captive. She was about ready to go to Afghanistan herself until she received word from (then) Lt. Col. Rhodes directly that he had gone missing. It was a few days later that they received notice that he’d been taken hostage by a band of pirates that never left captives alive.

This news left Toni empty and it was at that moment, hearing of Steve’s death, that everything changed for her. She started drinking and sleeping with anyone she felt like sleeping with. It didn’t matter anymore, not to her. She was the ruler of her country and she could do whatever she chose to do without consequence. Her parents were gone. Obediah couldn’t tell her what to do, she’d never see his squalid face again. She was set to be Queen and just because she partied didn’t change anything. She would be Queen in less than ten years anyway. Nothing would change that.

She didn’t take into account that she may not be alive and that would change her being Queen. It wasn’t long after her twenty-second birthday that the terrorist faction called Hydra made an attempt on her life. Hydra worked against all forms of government and monarchies, infiltrating them and finding/exploiting their weaknesses. They didn’t expect Antonia Stark to live through it… Her parents hadn’t.

But Toni did live through it. She had a nice shiny reminder in the middle of her chest in the form of an electromagnet keeping a piece of shrapnel from crawling it’s way into her heart and killing her. It had been an experimental procedure, considering had they done nothing, she would have died. There wasn’t anything the people of Marveland wouldn’t have done for the Crown. Maybe they didn’t feel quite so strongly in favor of the Princess herself, but they respected the Crown and the entire country would do anything for the Starks. She as the last one of the line as it was.

It was almost dying that really prompted her to realize that the urging of the council to move up her coronation was actually a good thing. This entailed also finding a consort. It wasn’t what she wanted, but she knew no way around it, so she relented. The council had come forward with a list of potential suitors, even sliding Prince Harry of Great Britain in their with the others. Toni hadn’t been amused that they had suggested such a thing.

After searching through the many possibilities, Toni decided on Loki Odinson of Asgard, a small island kingdom between Norway and Iceland. She knew she would never love him, but she was already close friends with the heir apparent to that throne. She had met and had one night of really rough sex with Thor Odinson a little more than a few years ago, but instead of being one of the many people she tosses away after such a night, she decided to make friends with him, thus renewing the alliance between the two kingdoms.

This union between the two kingdoms would be a boon to their relations, even if there had never been any tension between the two of them. King Howard, may he rest in peace, and Odin Borson, King of Asgard had been close friends and allies since Odin’s father Bor and Howard’s father, Howard the First, had been friends and allies. Toni could only surmise the reason that she hadn’t known Thor and Loki personally whilst growing up was because her father paid very little attention to her. She was _only a girl_ after all.

Thor and Loki were set to arrive today and Toni sat in her royal suite sitting at her vanity though not looking in the mirror, not really. Her eyes were glossed over even if they were set toward the lighted electromagnet in her chest. She knew how lucky she was to be alive, but she didn’t feel anything but emptiness still. All she wanted to do was drink herself into oblivion at this moment, even if it was only ten in the morning. She always got this way when she was thinking about … about Steve. It had been six years since he died but the wound never healed.

Just like the electromagnet around her heart, it was something that would never heal. She had given it a complete redesign of her own making. The original design the doctors had, made of palladium, would have slowly killed her, making their efforts to save her in the first place almost futile anyway. She used another metal, a titanium alloy as well as a new energy source based off of an element found only in Wakanda but extremely rare. The small multi-isotope radio-decay cell technology worked perfectly within the titanium alloy casing to do the same work of the electromagnet the doctors had placed in her chest but without any of the harmful side effects. If she left her life in the hands of modern medicine, she would have had nothing but a slow death to look forward to.

She knew she had a responsibility to her country, to her kingdom, but there were days like today that she longed for the days when she was younger, before the damned Afghan War and Steve leaving to fight for her. She hated it. If she could change it, she would. The only day she felt any relief had been two years after Steve had been killed and that was the day her troops had killed bin Laden. She felt a sliver of retribution for Steve’s death (because no life mattered as much to her, even as selfish as that was, as his did), but it didn’t bring him back nor did it end the war. It was the closest she had felt to something more than the emptiness within her, even if if it was nothing more than a sliver at that.

A knock on her door and the sound of Jarvis’ voice entering her room brought her out of her woeful thoughts. She had to pull herself together. She wanted a drink, something hard, even if it was only ten in the morning, she didn’t care. She wouldn’t though. With Thor and Loki’s arrival, she couldn’t be drunk just yet. The three of them could go out and get drunk together and it would have to suffice, but she couldn’t keep herself locked up in her room with her important guests arriving, or having just arrived as Jarvis informed her. She had to be Atonia Stark, Princess of Marveland.

“Thank you, J.”

Standing, she smoothed down the corset shirt she wore emphasising her cleavage and so much more. Her wardrobe had been vastly redone after her dance with death. With the introduction of the ARC reactor in her chest, she wanted to proudly show it off. It was one more way for her to show Hydra, and the rest of the world, that she can’t be defeated. She would rise above. She was a phoenix being reborn from her ashes, and the little blue light in her chest (that reminded her of Steve’s eyes) was on obvious display to show the world just that.

“They await in your drawing room, Miss.” She nodded, turning and giving Jarvis a gentle smile. He gave her a warm one in return. “Lovely as always.”

Toni didn’t receive a whole lot of unfettered compliments, but she always knew that she could trust the things Jarvis said to her, even if at times he could be a little sassy with her. She gave him enough sass of her own all the time, it was only fair that he be allowed to bounce it all right back at her. There were few people who even would, considering who she was, but most she wouldn’t allow anything less than complete and utter respect.

Nodding her head gently at him, she inhaled deeply. Having to put away and close off any and all thoughts of Steve, she steeled herself for the meeting with the Odinsons. Thor knew of Steve, how painful his loss had been for her and how much it still left her empty inside, but Loki did not. She had only met him a few times. He was nice, a bit of a spoiled prat, but what royal child wasn’t. There were few she knew who weren’t. He was the highest of stature of the eligible bachelors, and since she and Thor had formed a bond, she had decided on Loki, knowing she would at least have something in common with the deputy crown prince.

As she approached the drawing room, she heard the two brothers speaking. Thor’s voice was always loud, even when he spoke softly, and Loki’s honeyed tones were easily detectable even as quietly as he spoke. There was that, she mused. At least she wouldn’t get bored listening to him speak. That was something. She held her hands up to the guards who stood outside of the room to stop them from opening the doors just yet.

“Are you sure this is what the Princess wants, brother?”

There was a pause before Thor answered. “Yes.” His tone was resolute even with the silent interlude before his response. “This is beneficial for both of our kingdoms. Besides, you fancy her, do you not?”

“Well.” Toni could hear a bit of embarrassment in the single intonation. She shook her head, noting that lots of people found her attractive. Even if she could have anyone in her bed, it made it better that they were attracted to her looks than just the power she emanated. “I am quite fond of her, this is true.”

There was that too, Toni thought to herself before nodding to the guards to open the door for her. The herald announced her and she affixed her smile to her face. She knew how to play the part, alert no one to how she truly felt inside. Though even with the smile on her face, people often referred to her as being cold and heartless. The little device around her chest proved she wasn’t heartless, cold and calculating maybe, but that’s what life does to you.

“Thor!” she greeted him more warmly than she greeted practically anyone, closing the distance between the two of them and giving him a hug. Her head rested gently against his chest as she embraced him warmly. There were few she cared for as deeply as she did for Thor that she would grant the type of affection as she did with him. The list consisted of barely two other people, maybe three if she really needed a hug and Jarvis was the only person around to offer.

Pulling back, Toni's eyes shone as brightly as Thor had ever seen them, but even Toni knew how disheartened he was that it wasn't fully felt. Though they shared a similar disheartening bond that had started their friendship. Thor did not know the loss of a love as dearly as Toni did, yet Toni understood how he felt at being betrothed to one whilst in love with another woman. Toni knew the woman he was in love with, and as a personal favor, though no less based on her accolades as well, had given her a position in the sciences division of Stark Industries. Toni did like the girl and felt sorrow that Thor could not be with her as he wished, but she understood devotion to kingdom and family.

“You are as beautiful and divine as ever,” Thor greeted her but stepped back from her more.

“You know, Point Break,” Toni laughed, shaking her head and winking at him, “it's not fitting for a man to be flattering his brother's intended quite like you are." Toni's tone held no bearing to what she was saying. She liked the attention and Thor knew she did. Flattery did indeed get you everywhere. Usually people used it to gain favor with her, more often than not to get her into bed, but Thor wasn't. He had eyes now for one woman and one woman only and Toni was set to marry his brother. There was nothing but honesty behind his words to Toni and she knew it.

Thor only smiled a big cheesy grin at her before turning his head toward his brother and lifting his hand in gesture toward him. “You know my brother...”

“Of course,” Toni nodded, her smile remaining on her face though not nearly as brightly as she had bestowed on her friend yet attempting to show a softness anyhow as she turned toward him. “Welcome, Loki.”

“Princess,” he said, stepping forward and taking the hand Toni offered him and leaning down to kiss it gently. His eyes connected back with hers after what seemed like an incredibly long kiss against her knuckles. “It is an honor and a pleasure to be received by you. Our mother sends her fondest wishes and apologizes that she was unable to make it this time. She will come when we announce our engagement. She cannot wait to see you.”

That earned him no more than a gentle nod and a softer smile as she looked back to Thor. “Have you been to see Jane?” she asked but didn’t wait for his answer, knowing they had just arrived at LaGuardia Airport less than an hour ago. They had come straight to the Castle, not to the Tower. “Why don’t we swing on over to the tower and pick her up and head out for an early lunch and drinks?”

Thor smiled brightly and stepped forward, his hands coming down to Loki’s and her shoulders. “The best way to celebrate a pending union, food and drink!”

Both Thor and his brother were very peculiar in the way they spoke, but Toni was rather fond of the politeness. She wasn’t anywhere near as polite, yet it was refreshing to her to have such kindness in her castle. Jarvis was always kind unless they were snarking at each other, but this was different. This was jovial and light, something that had been in exceedingly short supply around the Castle for a very long time.

The three of them started to leave the Castle with not only her security detail, but the Odinson brothers’ as well. For the most part, Toni ignored them, but there was quite a few of them. Stopping at the door to exit and walk across the courtyard to her private entrance of Stark Tower, she turned to look at the two of them with the guards in tow.

“I hope you don’t mind, but I think one detail is enough, we don’t need fifteen guards trailing us to the restaurant. An extra car is more than enough.”

Thor nodded and turned to tell their detail, save for one, to stand down and to remain behind. He turned back to Toni and she shrugged her shoulders, acquiescing to what he had done. She told a few of hers to stay behind as well. They really only needed one other car in the retinue. She didn’t like to cause a scene unless she was specifically meaning to do so.

No more than 20 minutes later, they were all seated at the Princess’ private table at Jean Georges. It was one of her favorite restaurants and they always had a table reserved for only her for her should she ever show up without any notice which she quite often did. Thor was wrapped up in Jane which left Toni to be entertained by the prince she’d chosen to be her consort. She figured she was sooner or later going to have to spend some time getting to know him, and that was precisely the purpose of their excursion to Marveland.

It wasn’t as though she didn’t like the Prince. He was almost ten years older than her which meant there was more than a slight chance she could have an intellectual conversation with him. Truth be told, according to his studies and his degrees from university, he was more aptly suited for Toni than his younger brother was, even if she liked the younger prince’s company far more. Though, she was sure she needed to merely give the older prince a chance. They would be married for some time to come, they may as well like each other.

“How many degrees do you have from Asgard Uni, Loki?” she asked, hoping that a show of interest would lighten the air between the two of them. It wasn’t as though it was overly thick, but with the other couple so closely enamored with each other, something needed to relax the two of them since the drink in her hand hadn’t started to yet.

“Two doctorates,” he told her brightly, “and two masters.”

Toni knew he was proud of himself. To have any doctorates at any age is impressive. “What are your doctorates in?”

Loki’s smile remained a bright beam on his face. “Cultural anthropology and political science.”

Toni mused silently to herself. She would never say it out loud, but with the formal study of both of those, she was sure her father would prefer Loki as ruler of Marveland than she who was born into it, not just for the fact that he was a man. Howard always quantified things he said when finding praise in a prince or other dignitary from another country. _“It has nothing to do with the fact that he’s a man, daughter.”_ Daughter… She hated that word because they had come from his lips. It was alway said with such disdain, proof evident that he had wished he’d had a son.

“Very impressive,” she said with a gentle nod. “Primed for leadership.”

He shrugged his shoulders. “My mother says we’re all born for a purpose.”

Narrowing her eyes on him, Toni leaned closer. “You’re not so satisfied with your lot in life either.”

It was unprecedented that a younger sibling would be the heir apparent to the throne, yet it wasn’t that widely known that Loki was adopted. It was speculated outside of the circles where it was something that was needed to be known, but beyond that, it was little more than that. Toni felt sorry for him, actually. She understood how he must feel to a point, having a father being disapproving of him, at least that’s the closest association she could make because that was the issue she had herself.

His smile was little more than a sneer. “No, Princess, not particularly, but,” he said without pause, “I am honored that you would choose me to stand at your side in your rule of your kingdom.”

Tori shook her head. “Please don’t call me Princess,” she requested of him. “If we are to be wed, you can at least call me by my given name.”

Loki’s smile softened and he nodded his head to her. “Yes, Antonia.”

With her glass lifted to her lips, she almost choked on a sip of her single malt. Swallowing, she laughed it off. “Toni. It’s Toni, Loki. You can call me Toni.”

“Yes, Toni,” he intoned in turn.

In the light, the color of his eyes, the very pristine blue, almost reminded her of Steve’s gentle ceruleans. She found her breath stuck in her throat and she ended up coughing a bit more and shaking her head, putting her glass down. Loki’s hand was on her back, lightly patting at it.

“Are you alright?”

Toni closed her eyes tightly, trapping the tears there, demanding they stay locked away. There was two days a year she cried for her lost love. One was the anniversary of his death, the other was his birthday. She would not be reduced to tears just because the color of this prince’s eyes reminded her of her soldier boy’s. She refused.

“Toni?” Thor inquired with a measurable amount of concern from the other side of her.  “What happened?”

“She choked on her scotch.” Loki sounded as if he was grasping at straws, not knowing why she was choking at all.

Toni raised her hand, shaking her head. She swallowed hard, breathing deeply and shaking her head to rid it of the thoughts of things that were and would never be. She didn’t need a spectacle brought on because she couldn’t control her emotions. She was fine and she had to show them she was.

“I’m fine,” she told them calmly as her eyes flashed open. “I’m fine. I guess I forgot I can’t breathe when I’m drinking.”

The table was filled with muted chuckles after that and she was grateful for being able to deflect their concern by changing it to laughter. She gave them a smile and reached for her drink again.

“Remind me not to do that again.”

“I shall do so,” Thor noted with a nod of his head. “Jane was telling me of the generous funds you allocated recently to her division.” He changed the subject as though nothing had happened. “That is very generous of you.”

Toni shook her head, smiling at Jane. “It’s not generosity,” she clarified. “I was able to apportion the funds requested in Jane’s last proposal without detriment to any other division. There’s no generosity in that.” Sure, it could be argued that it was generous and she’d made special provisions for that money, but Toni had approved the money with careful perusal and forethought. The division clearly was in need of the funds and Toni was happy to have done so personally.

“Regardless,” Thor said with a fine finality, “thank you.”

Toni caught a soft roll of Jane’s eyes and swore she was covering a giggle. Toni didn’t mind. Thor was a bit conspicuous, quite like herself but in different regards. It was a lot of the reason why the two of them were friends, despite their vast differences in regard for learning. To Thor, it was merely something one must do, especially one of royal birth, but Toni saw learning as a gift. She had seen the sacrifices Steve’s mother had made for him before she had died just to get him the best education, the best life possible. She admired Sarah Rogers more than almost anyone in her entire life.

Shaking off the thoughts of Steve once more, and this time his mother, Toni smiled and took another sip of her drink with a nod. Toni valued education beyond what other people would do for it. Learning had always come easy to her. She had surpassed high school level education by the time she was twelve and had her first doctorate by the time she turned fifteen. Steve had been there for that. Toni’s parents’ had been dead for a few years and there was no one to tell her she couldn’t invite her “little friend” as her father had so often referred to him as.

Those two words together angered her more than almost any Howard had ever said, especially since he was saying them about someone who meant the world to her. It angered her on so many levels, but one of the highest levels it angered her on was the fact that it wasn’t Steve’s fault he was so small. He was born small and had so many health issues, it wasn’t his fault.

Once again, she found herself thinking about Steve. She never allowed herself to think about him this much. (Actually, that was a lie, because she always thought about him more than she allowed herself.) She didn’t like that she was doing it now, not when she was sitting down with the man she was planning on marrying. It still wouldn’t happen for quite some time. Weddings take a very long time to plan, but that didn’t mean the council would ease up even when the groom-to-be was now there in the kingdom. They would urge for a date to be set now and preparations to be made. Toni wasn’t looking forward to any of it, but it was inevitable.

Lunch consisted mostly of Thor and Jane kissing more than what polite society allowed (though it didn’t bother Toni nor Loki at all), and Toni and Loki getting to know each other. She was genuinely sure that this had been a wise decision. She didn’t want to be married, especially to someone she wasn’t in love with, but she knew she had to if she ever wanted to rule. Even though she was a bit on the wild side, she knew she wanted to be Queen. It was the one thing in this world she actually cared about. Without Steve in her life, being Queen was the only thing she had to look forward to. It’d just be so much easier to misuse the royal funds and live the life she’d been wasting since the day she lost Steve. It would be so much easier.

Yet, here she was, putting the needs of her country ahead of her own. It had been said countless times that she was selfish and unapologetic, but everyone knew what the kingdom meant to her. She made a pretty good show about making sure the world media and public masses knew as much. Nothing was more important to her than her kingdom, it was why she had agreed to marriage in the first place. She knew her father had wanted her to marry, and it was decreed, but it wasn’t until her near death experience that she realized that she needed to marry and produce an heir so at least there would be someone to carry on the crown after her. That wasn’t something she could shirk off.

At the end of the day, Thor brought Jane back to the room that had been prepared for him at the castle, leaving Toni and Loki to get to know each other over a cup of coffee back in the drawing room where she had greeted him and Thor earlier that day. She found that she and Loki weren't at all mismatched. If it hadn't been for not being in love, it was the perfect arrangement, but then again, most royal marriages had no love to begin with if ever. Also, she found if she didn’t look in his eyes, it wasn’t a good idea for her to, she found his presences almost comforting. He didn't seem to notice that she avoided direct eye contact.

“Three?” he laughed, shaking his head in disbelief at the number of doctorates he had learned Toni had. “And here I am ten years your senior with only two to my name.”

Toni smiled, shrugging her shoulders. “Overachiever and all that,” she waved it off. She was proud of her accolades, that was true, but she wasn’t about to gloat about it, not with him right now anyway. Loki’s keen appraisal of them was enough for her ego at the moment, she didn’t really need much of a boost from him as it was. He’d been staring at her all day and not so subtly.

Toni hadn't expected to jump right into bed with him, but it wasn't as though she was opposed to the idea. She'd known him for a few years already, however it wasn't uncommon for her to jump into bed with some random stranger. She was going to marry this man after all, it wasn't like it was a terrible idea. She should at least know what she’s getting into.

“It is impressive, Toni. You should be proud of yourself.”

“Did I say I wasn't?" Toni smirked at him wickedly. "If you're looking for modesty, you won't find any here."

"None needed," Loki informed her, leaning closer to her.

Yes, Toni hadn't expected this, but she wasn't about to stop him.

However, just before their lips were about to touch for the first time, the doors were thrust open quickly with Pepper moving like a flash into the room. "You have to see this, Toni!"

Toni rolled her eyes with a heavy sigh. "Loki, Pepper Potts."

"A pleasure," Loki nodded, stifling a groan.

Toni turned to where Pepper was turning on the wall panel TV, not even sparing a glance for her future king. Toni never questioned Pepper. She did hiss at her a few times though, mostly when she was being a cockblocker, but oddly she didn't at this moment, especially when the breaking footage from the nightly news filled the screen. Immediately, Toni was on her feet and walking closer to the television.

 _"As you can see, The Avengers have struck again. As always, they have made it their duty to make terrorists and even so much as the common thief pay for their crimes themselves."_   On the TV, a video captured by a commoner’s cellphone played of The Avengers apprehending someone who had just robbed a bank. Though since they have no obviously granted authority, all they did to keep him from getting away was zip tie his hands together and tie him up to a fire hydrant where news footage now was showing the royal law enforcement officers untying him and helping him into the cruiser to take him to the precinct to arrest him.

Toni looked to Pepper exchanging a glance. Pepper knew long time ago never to question Toni, not because she was the Princess, but because Pepper knew Toni was going to do whatever she was going to and no one would stop her. Pepper only nodded and Toni turned to face Loki who was standing as well now.

"I have to go," Toni told him only to be met with a shake of his head and a wave of his hand.

"You needn’t say a word."

Toni smiled softly at him, returning his nod and, without saying a word, turned to leave the room. A ruler would have to do something about this even if it wasn't directly, Toni knew Loki would understand that, but she had something she actually had to do concerning what she'd seen on the news. She had something she needed to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stay tuned! The princess from the prologue knew the story well and the story can't be called The Captain and the Queen if the Captain is actually dead, right? This wouldn't be a Stoni story if Steve was dead, right?


	3. The Captain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The captain finds his way home, but things aren't how they were when he left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoy!

Steve had promised Toni he would return. He told her he couldn't wait to come back to her. Even now he could still feel her in his arms when he slept. It had been seven years since he'd left her and he still knew how she felt and how she smelled. He would never forget anything about her. He never could. She was a part of him and had been since the moment he'd met her. He had been seven at the time, sick yet again, and back in the hospital, incurring more medical bills Sarah Rogers couldn't pay. He needed the help though and there was no way she could not seek medical attention for her chronically ill son.

Steve had been laying in the hospital room alone. Sarah had to go to work. She didn’t want to leave her little boy, but she had to. She worked on another floor in the hospital as a CNA, so at least she wasn’t too far away. She could be paged if she was needed and she could also check in on him on her breaks and have her lunch with him. Steve insisted that he was alright and that she didn’t have to be with him the whole time. He knew how to call the nurses station on the floor she was on. He wasn’t a baby anymore, as he continued to remind her, but she always reminded him that he would always be her baby, no matter what.

Steve didn’t mind being in the room alone, but when a little girl with dark curly hair opened the door and smiled brightly at him, suddenly he wasn’t sure he did want to be alone anymore. He was sure he’d never seen anyone so cute in his entire life. He’d asked her if she was an angel and she giggled, telling him there was no such thing. She was carrying a book with her that was almost bigger than she was. Pushing the door shut again, she walked over and smiled brightly up at him, asking if she could read to him. He wasn’t sure this little girl could read, she couldn’t be any older than five, four even, but of course he had said yes.

She crawled up onto the bed beside him and even with as sick as he was, Steve found it odd the feeling he felt from being so close to her. He’d never felt so complete and at peace in his entire life. It was as if she was healing him just with her mere presence, even if there was nothing mere about the little girl at all. She was incredible, even the big words that he had trouble pronouncing flowed easily as she read to him, he was sure he knew just how incredible she was. He’d seen the movie that had been made from the book once at his best friend’s house, never read the book, but listening to her read was far better than even the movie.

They had gotten through a few chapters when the noise in the halls outside Steve’s room began to steadily build to low rumbling. Steve wasn’t unused to commotion in the hospital. He’d had to go to work with his mom a lot while he was growing up and he’d seen lots of people die, lots of emergency situations, but this was different. It was if they were looking for someone. The PA system announced a code pink lockdown which usually meant a child or infant was missing. The entire hospital security team had combed through the hospital room by room, closet by closet, and when they found the child who matched the description they’d been given, half the royal guard was in the room and the little girl’s mother, Queen Maria, wasn’t too far behind.

The little girl insisted that she was fine and that she had only been making a new friend. Steve had no idea that his new friend was Princess Antonia Elizabeth, but that didn’t change anything between the two of them. They had formed a bond that day in the brief time before the chaos that no one else could ever touch. Steve’s mother came rushing into the room, stopped by the royal guards, but upon hearing that she was the sick boy’s mother, and at the behest of the Queen, they let her pass. The two mothers sat talking as Toni continued reading the book to Steve. He didn’t find out until years later why his mother never had to worry about paying his medical bills anymore. The Queen had set up a fund for people in situations like Steve’s mother who couldn’t pay the costly bills and he forever was grateful to Toni’s mother for that kindness, one he swore he’d repay in any way he ever could.

He got better from that sickness in no time after that, he knew it was a lot due in part to the doctors and the medicines he was able to get now, but he knew it really was because of Toni that he’d gotten better so quickly and the reason why he never truly got that sick ever again. He wasn’t ever completely healthy, at least not until Toni had found Dr. Erskine for him, a medical marvel, but that didn’t come until many years later. He was still in and out of the doctor’s office, but never again in the hospital. The fund Queen Maria set up paid for all his bills even after his mother died. She caught tuberculosis from an infected patient and didn’t get proper treatment for herself. Steve had only been 10 years old.

He was a strong little boy though, strong willed and spirited. He refused to take charity from anyone. The only people he truly had after his mother died was Toni and his best friend Bucky who he moved in with. Bucky’s parents never adopted him, but Queen Maria was able to pull a few strings at Toni’s request, and he was able to stay with them and not be taken into the foster system. They filled out a few simple forms granting them guardianship and that was that.

Steve was always with Bucky and Toni, whenever she was able to get away from the Castle anyway. They’d go play arcade games, hop from subway train to subway train with no real destination, or go to Dodger games. Toni wasn’t that big of a baseball fan (or sports for that matter), but both Steve and Bucky especially liked when the Dodgers would play against the Yankees. Those were the very best games. They hated the Yankees, the Dodgers were their team, but Toni just liked hearing them yell at the players from her private box. Even Steve knew that was the only reason she went,  but he didn’t mind as long as the three of them were together.

It didn’t even matter what they did. They could stay home, which they did quite often since Steve could pick up a cold even in the dog days of summer. He didn’t mind staying home, especially if Bucky stayed home and Toni was able to come over. He even enjoyed the day Toni had been there when her father King Howard, may he rest in peace, made the announcement that he was moving troops into Afghanistan not even a month after al-Qaeda had attacked Marveland soil.

Steve and Bucky had sat on the edge of Bucky’s bed watching the King’s address, just as they had on the day of the actual attacks, completely glued to the television screen. Toni wasn’t nearly as interested. She never was interested when her father, the King, was on the screen, though Steve couldn’t fault her on that. He knew the issues she had with him. Steve was the first to say he wanted to join the troops, even though he was only 11. He’d always fight for his country, serve it with his every breath, though it wasn’t for his country he really wanted to do it for.

He had vowed that he would fight in Toni’s name though, not the King’s specifically. He had no respect for the King personally because of how he treated his daughter, of how he made her feel, but he wouldn’t ever be disloyal to him or the Crown. That had no bearing on the reasons he would actually fight. He’d sworn to her that he would fight in Her name. Bucky wanted to join the war too, but Steve noticed he had only said so because he would fight in the war for Steve because they both knew he never be able to go. His asthma alone would keep him home. Bucky told him later he would go and fight in Toni’s name for him. Steve told him he’d do it himself, but Bucky would have none of that.

Bucky left a few years later to fight in the war. It was still going on and they really saw no end in sight. Even though it had been termed the Afghan War, it was more aptly coined the War on Terrorism. Steve hated it, but he never doubted King Howard as a king. He never questioned his word or decisions, but as a man, he didn't trust him. He wasn't a good man at all. No good man would ever neglect their daughter nor treat her the way he treated Toni. He swore he would never treat his children he ever had that way. Never.

Steve knew that he and Toni could never be together, not truly anyway. She was the heir to the Stark throne. She could never marry Steve, and that really became more evident when her parents were killed in an apparent accident. (Not much later it was revealed that it had been a carefully orchestrated plot by Hydra to kill the royal family.) Luckily, Toni had been with Steve that day and she escaped that horrible fate.

Even though they knew they could never be together, that didn't stop the two of them from falling in love. Steve was sure he fell in love with her the day she walked into his hospital room with her limited edition copy of Wizard of Oz. When she told him she was in love with him, his heart soared. They'd said they loved each other all the time, but the day Toni said she was in love with him and vowed to one day find a way around her father's stipulations for her marriage was the day he knew there would never be anyone for him but her. He never doubted her, but promised not to be upset if she couldn't find a way around her father’s stipulations. He never would find any fault in her. She had always been perfect in his eyes, his angel, even if she didn’t believe in them.

Steve was sixteen when Toni took him to see Dr. Erskine. She'd taken it on herself personally to oversee Steve's medical expenses. They hadn't been nearly as costly since the late Queen set up the fund, but Toni told him she would still do anything for him. She wanted him completely healthy, even if Steve knew, and he was sure she knew too, that some of his ailments could never be cured. Though with Toni in his life, he had always felt far more healthier. Toni promised Dr. Erskine would make him better.

And he did. The experimental medical advancements he tried with Steve were beyond the cutting edge, but there was nothing neither Steve nor Toni would try to cure him of everything. Steve was surprised when even his asthma was cured. It was shortly after that that Steve started working out and he literally almost quadrupled in size. He was no longer the sickly 90 pound wisp. He looked as though he could pick up a car and not break a sweat.

No longer sick, Steve was even more determined to fight in the War on Terrorism. When he was able, he enlisted. He needed to finish out his last year of high school, but he was able to start his basic training while he was doing so. When he told Toni he’d enlisted, it had angered her. She didn’t want him fighting, even if it was in Her name and he was no longer sick. He promised her he would be safe, he promised her he would come back to her. Even though it didn’t change her mind, she relented after a while. She couldn’t keep him from doing what he wanted, even if he was only doing it for her. He knew she could forbid him from going, but he knew she would never use her Crown to do that.

It wasn’t long after he enlisted that they made love for the first time. He was spending the night at the castle with her, something he did quite often after Bucky had left to fight in the war the moment he was able to. He liked George and Winifred enough and they always treated him like any of their other children, but Steve would rather stay with Toni any night he was able to. She was the Princess. There were times when she had important matters to attend to that would keep her from spending time with him. Sometimes he was able to stay and wait for her, but other times she either wouldn’t be home or he knew it was best if he just stayed at the Barnes’ apartment.

They were laying on Toni’s bed watching a movie. She didn’t have any important business to attend to and she was all his for the night. Steve didn’t mind when she did have to, but he always felt very fortunate for every moment he was able to spend with her. Toni wasn’t always able to go out and see a movie, especially if she didn’t rent out the entire theater, so movies she did see were usually a first release or advanced release if it was something she was really wanting to see. Steve didn’t need all the privileges that Toni was accustomed to, but he let her indulge because he loved seeing her happy.

Twilight, the movie they had decided to watch, was really boring and they ended up goofing off instead of watching the movie. Toni had started by playing footsie with him. She took off his socks with her toes and let her foot slowly sliding between the two of his huge barefeet, slowly and deliberately. They were still more or less paying attention to the movie, but it became increasingly more difficult for him when she let her foot slide up the insides of his calves. He looked over at her, not saying a word. The look she returned was one he wasn’t all too unfamiliar with, but it was far more intense than any he’d ever seen in her eyes.

She had licked her lips, something that always told him she wanted to kiss him or that she was about to, and leaned in to press her lips to his. The kiss was uninhibited, void of all reserve and pretense. He knew exactly what she wanted with the kiss and knew that he wanted it too. The kiss was tender, but there was an intensity to it that alluded to things to come. She pulled him closer to her and easily slid underneath him. He pulled his head back to look at her, about to ask if this was what she really wanted, even if he knew she did, but didn’t ask. The look in her eyes was enough to show him that the question didn’t need to be uttered.

He pressed his lips back to hers and rested his body down against hers. Her leg curled around him, pulling him more into her. Her tiny body felt so good underneath his. He wanted more. They’d made out before, countless times since they’d told each other years ago that they were in love with each other. This was a long time coming, though neither of them had been ready up until just recently. Steve knew he was. He’d been thinking about it, dreaming about it for sometime now. She’d told him she’d dreamed about what it would be like to be with him, to not just make out anymore, and really be together. They’d discussed it many times, but they both knew that this was the right time.

Steve felt her legs wrap around him and he pressed himself down more into her. She had on nothing but the shirt he had worn that day and her panties, having gotten ready for bed before laying down to watch the movie. He was wearing a pair of pajama bottoms from a set she’d given him that year for Christmas. Through the minimal clothing, he could feel her heat emanating from her for him. He wanted more, needed so very much more. Though at that thought, he had to pull back. She wasn’t even 15 yet. He didn’t need to ask her if she was sure, they both knew they wanted this, but they couldn’t because he hadn’t thought about protection.

She had been been prepared, not with condoms but having gone to the doctor and getting the birth control shot instead. She said she didn’t want the barrier of a condom to keep them from feeling any of what they were doing. Steve didn’t need to know anything else. This was finally happening between the two of them. He’d wanted it for so long, known she was the only one he’d ever want to be with, and finally it was happening.

Steve let his hand slide up her thigh and to her side gripping at his shirt she was wearing to pull it off of her. Tossing it aside, he turned back to look at her. Her tiny, mostly naked body beneath him made him grow even harder against the few pieces of clothing he actually had on. The way she moved against him was making him want her so much more. He never knew a physical desire could be this intense. His emotional desire to be with her was as strong, but he never knew a physical desire could rival it. Though since the physical desire was for Toni, it didn’t surprise him. Each desire fueled the other, making him want her more and more emotionally and physically.

The sounds she made when his mouth covered over of her nipples made his cock jump and press more against her core through all of their clothes. Her supplications for more, low, breathy implorings, almost made him hasten, but he didn’t want to. He wanted both of them to enjoy it. Slowly, he pulled down her panties, stringing kisses down from her breasts and over her flat stomach. When he let his tongue dip between the lips at her core, she gasped out loud and he nearly lost it. He could have cum so easily just from looking at her and hearing her. The heat of her skin against his, the heat of her core, was enough to have him releasing before he’d even been inside her, and that just simply wouldn’t do.

Her plea for more stopped his mouth’s ministrations at her core, making him ache to be inside her. He looked back up at her and she pulled him to her to kiss him deeply. Pulling him close, she wrapped her arms and legs around him, begging silently for him to enter her. He wanted to be inside her as badly as he could tell she wanted. A slight adjustment and he was sliding deep into the most amazing warmth he’d ever felt. He had always known that making love to Toni was going to be the most incredible experience he’d ever know, but he hadn’t expected it to be just as unbelievable as it was. She was perfection.

They had made love countless times before he left for Afghanistan. The nights he spent in the barracks thinking of her, dreaming of her weren’t enough to stop him from missing her. He wrote her every day he could. He couldn’t email her like other soldiers were able to write their significant others occasionally. Toni didn’t have any private email accounts, even with Stark Technology safety protocols, it wasn’t safe or secure enough. She told him she was going to send him a direct connection cellphone for him in a care package once she personally finished it’s design and oversaw its production.

But he never received the package. He had been out on maneuvers with his unit when they were attacked. A group of them had been taken captive and taken out of Afghanistan en route for Saudi Arabia. On their way across the Persian Gulf, their convoy was accosted by pirates. All of the Islamists were killed and the Marveland soldiers kept captive. Word was sent to their commanding officer, Lt. Col. James Rhodes, that they had taken them but since none of them were worth much, they would not be returning them to their base. The end of the message had said for them to pray for their souls.

Steve hadn’t read the note, but he was sure the pirates had told Rhodes that they were dead. He wasn’t even sure why the captain would take the time to write them just to tell them they’d killed the men. It made no sense to him, but he didn’t question. When most of the men had given up, Steve kept his hopes up. He had promised Toni he would come home to her and would never break a promise to her. One by one, all of Steve’s fellow soldiers were killed in one way or another, none by means of walking the plank like pirate lore depicted. Steve often wondered why he never met that fate.

The captain of the ship, a man known as Roberts, told him nightly that he’d never had a valet but Steve could try for it if he’d like though he’d most likely kill him in the morning. For almost six years he told him that, though it never happened. Captain Roberts, who revealed his real name was actually Montoya (the real pirate Roberts had retired years ago, succeeded by at least three men taking on his title before Montoya), decided he wanted to retire, though there were no men on the ship he trusted as much as he trusted Steve. Though why he needed to trust the man he called as his successor was beyond him, it was really just another of many things the captain did during the time he knew him that baffled him.

Steve had been honest with him, that he hadn’t wanted to be a pirate, but Montoya said he’d made his choice, whatever Steve did after he left the ship was up to him. They docked in Spain where Montoya had chosen to retire. Letting the men go, Montoya stayed on the ship with him for a while. He understood that Steve didn’t want to be a pirate. Steve told him of his girl back home, and even though Montoya trusted him, Steve couldn’t trust a pirate (even a retiring one) with the fact that the girl he loved was the Princess of Marveland, it wasn’t safe. Montoya left the ship, having given it to him, and bid him good luck in returning to Marveland.

Steve liked the ship and decided against selling it and flying home. It had been nearly seven years since he had left for Afghanistan and yet still a week stood between him and his homeland, between him and the girl he loved. He steered the ship under the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge through the Narrows from the Lower Bay into the Upper Bay and the all-too-familiar skyline filled his view. From the time he’d awakened that morning, his heart had been threatening to burst right out of his chest. He couldn’t wait to see Toni.

Nearly seven years had gone by since he’d seen her, and even though he had gotten through those seven years with only a picture he carried with him, the only thing he’d managed to keep when the Islamists took him and even through the entire time he’d been held captive by the pirates, and his memories of her, he never forgot anything about Toni. Late at night when he’d lay down to sleep, he found that more often than not he used memories of making love to her to get through the night. He missed being in her arms, but he had never forgotten how her arms felt. He never forgot a single thing about her. Toni was a part of him, his angel he’d met eighteen years ago, she would never leave him.

He’d docked at the passenger ship terminal, gave the dockmaster his paperwork (forged papers that Montoya had given him to make port and not be detected as a pirate ship) and headed inland. He opted out of public transportation for running. It’d been six years since he’d been in a vehicle of any type, he didn’t even think about taking a cab or the subway. It would take less time for him to run anyway. He took off running the moment he’d left the docks, heading straight for the Castle.

He’d made the distance in less than ten minutes, dodging pedestrians on the street left and right. He took the most direct route possible, but it was still about ten minutes later that he made it to the gates at the courtyard to Stark Tower and Castle. He was used to the gates being open, but when he approached the gates, the two guards standing on either end stopped him, telling him he can’t go in. He tried to argue with them, saying the Princess wanted to see him. He knew it was the truth, he hadn’t said anything that wasn’t the truth, but the guards wouldn’t let him pass. Stepping back from the gates, he looked up at the Castle, sighing heavily. He could see her another time even if he needed nothing more than to see her right then. He’d been gone or far too long, but he knew she was the Princess and seen out in public often enough. He would find her then.

Not letting it get him down, he decided to take the train out to Brooklyn to see Bucky’s parents. Steve had heard from Bucky’s parents that he’d gone missing in action a few months after Steve had gone to Afghanistan. From that time until he’d gotten captured, they hadn’t heard anything new on him. Steve never given up hope that he was alive and that he’d rejoined his infantry or even been able to make it home on leave at least a few times. With any luck, he’d be there when Steve showed up.

Though when he got to the Brooklyn apartment they’d lived in, they didn’t live there. The woman who answered the door with the screaming baby had no idea who George and Winifred Barnes even were. He found out from one of the neighborhood boys (a guy who didn’t even recognize Steve now, but Steve knew exactly who he was) that the Barnes family moved away about three years ago, he didn’t know where. That did deflate him a bit. He knew no one and had no where else to go. That wasn’t completely true, he could go back to his ship or get a motel; he had enough pirate booty to live pretty comfortably for quite a long time, but he would never spend money on a hotel in downtown Manhattan, or anywhere else in the boroughs, they were all too overpriced.

Deciding to head back to his ship, he took the subway again, at least until he’d gotten back to Manhattan and got off at Fulton Street in Lower Manhattan to walk back through the city streets toward the terminal where he’d docked his ship. His thoughts distracted him and he ended up back at Stark Castle again. With a heavy heart, he stood there, staring up toward where he knew Toni's room was, from a distance, of course, since he'd already made quite a scene with the guards not too long ago that night. He’d promised her he’d come home, and now that he was, he couldn’t even see her. He felt more lost and alone than he had since he’d left.

Inhaling deeply, he turned and headed past the Castle. He missed her more than ever now that he was literally outside the Castle walls and unable to go to her. He’d been trained to spot the enemy, and even though the Royal Guard wasn’t his enemy, they were still standing between him and Toni, and he could see that there was no way he could even scale the wall and enter the castle undetected. He could easily do it, but without getting caught, that wasn’t happening. He’d never known the castle to be on such tight lockdown. It made him worry about Toni, but yet at the same time, it also calmed him to know that she was so intensely protected. He knew the only reason security would be this tightly amped up was if something bad had happened or they worried something bad could happen. He had an unsettling feeling that it was probably both.

He wasn’t sure how it’d happened, but he ended up in Harlem. He wasn’t all too unfamiliar with this area of town; he’d been there several times with Bucky and even a few times with Bucky and Toni. No one ever knew it was Toni with the two boys. She knew how to go incognito when she was out with the boys as long as it wasn’t too often. People would figure it out sooner rather than later, and she didn’t need that, especially since she had really wanted to be out there with them.

The streets of Harlem were dirtier than he remembered them. It hadn’t really been all that long since he’d been here, couldn’t have been much more than ten to eleven years ago. He couldn’t remember ever having gone up after Bucky left for the war. Even though it was less run down and filthier than he remembered, it still wasn’t a neighborhood he _should_ have been bringing the Princess into. Getting himself lost in thoughts of her again, he didn’t realize he’d made an odd turn and ended up in what seemed to be a homeless camp. He’d really thought Queen Maria had expunged all poverty from not only the streets of the 5 boroughs, but the entire country as well. This was something he hadn’t been used to seeing on Marveland soil.

Instead of walking passed it, he decided to venture into the camp. The streets looked quite rundown. Apartment buildings and other places for housing didn’t seem to be regulated that much. the doors were still on the buildings, but they didn’t seem to be used for just housing as much as for other sorts of activities. What, he couldn’t really tell. He could just see that things weren’t right there.

He hadn’t taken more than a few steps into the camp when something whized right past his head and ended up stopping in the telephone pole just behind him. His eyes turned toward pole and noticed that it had been an arrow that had nearly made it’s home lodged in his skull and not the wooden pole. He immediately turned to find the assailant who had attempted to end his life with such a primitive (though, he noted, not quite so primitive considering it wasn’t a simple arrow, but had lights and appendages on it) weapon.

“I never miss,” the unruffled voice came from the shadows, “just so you know.”

Steve shook his head, inhaling deeply. He understood what the man meant. It had been a warning shot. He wasn’t aiming for his head at all. Nodding, Steve narrowed his eyes in on the figure coming out from the dark alleyway. “What is this place?”

“Somewhere you don’t have clearance to be,” another voice answered from the opposite side of the street. Steve turned to look at the black man in a long leather trench coat walking down the concrete steps from a wrought-iron door. As he came closer, Steve noted the man had a patch over one eye. This definitely wasn’t the Marveland he had left seven years ago.

Steve couldn’t help but let a snort of a laugh escape. “Last I checked, Harlem wasn’t a restricted territory.”

“Where you been?” the first voice asked, now standing directly beside him. “You smell like shit.”

Steve’s head snapped quickly back to the man with the bow in his hand who was looking him over as though he was appraising an artifact. “I’ve been at sea. Just got in tonight.”

“So you’re a sailor?” the archer asked.

“Something like that.”

The one-eyed man neared him, looking him over just as closely as the other. “Nah,” he shook his head, “nothing like that.”

Steve wasn’t sure what to think about the two men standing over him like he’s some form of prey. “Who are you?”

“You come into our territory and you think you get to ask the questions?” the dirty-blonde-haired guy asked, shaking his head. “We’ll ask the questions.”

Steve sighed, standing his ground. He wasn’t afraid of them, if that’s what they were trying to do, intimidate him. After all he’d been through and seen since he’d left Marveland, a couple of street thugs weren’t going to frighten him. “I don’t think the Princess would like this. Her mother, Queen Maria cleaned up the streets years ago.”

“What would you know about the Princess, soldier?” the man with the patch asked.

Steve turned to look at him squarely. “I am citizen of Marveland. I know just about as much as anyone else.” Steve didn’t ask how the man knew he was a soldier. He hadn’t been a soldier for several years. Yet, once a soldier, always a soldier, he surmised.

“Right. Something tells me that you don’t know squat, having been out on the sea. Are you sure you’re a citizen?”

Steve didn’t turn away from the older man. “Of course I am! I serve my Princess to my dying breath!”

The man narrowed his eye on him, scrutinizing him. “Do you?” He shook his head. “Come with me, soldier.” He turned to walk back toward the building he’d exited when Steve had come into the camp. Steve figured that the man wasn’t asking, he was ordering him, and Steve was a soldier who followed orders. He wasn’t all too sure he trusted this man, but he was curious so if nothing else it was that making him follow.

He followed the man into the building and immediately realized the exterior belied the interior. The inside of the building was not what he’d even expect from the architecture of the building outside. It was as though they were in Stark Tower in the technology department. Steve remembered it was Toni’s favorite division, next to R&D, and he’d spent quite a bit of time with her there. Everything him around him looked like StarkTech and he had to wonder if the man leading him had anything to do with Stark Industries.

“What’s your name, soldier?”

Steve was really getting annoyed by the way the man kept calling him soldier. Yes, he was a soldier, but still, he did have a name, so he would give him that since he was asking. “Steven Rogers, sir.” His response came as though it was requested from an officer and Steve had to wonder if that was from his training or because the man in front of him actually was an officer of some sort in Toni’s military forces.

The man stopped, looking back at him. “Welcome back from the dead, Captain.”

Steve almost bristled at being called that. He’d just barely made that rank before he’d been captured by the Islamists, but it wasn’t just because he felt guilty that his men under him had been killed the first maneuver out after his advancement, but because that’s what Montoya had started calling him on the ship. He wasn’t a pirate captain, but maybe even with the ship now he was some sort of ship captain anyhow.

“I’d prefer just to be called Steve, sir.”

The man shrugged his shoulders. “Suit yourself. So, kidnapped by pirates, hmm? How did you survive that? Did the rest of your men survive as well?”

“Just me.” He really didn’t want to talk about this, especially when he had no idea who he was talking to or where exactly he was.

“Sorry to hear that.” The man led Steve into an office. Cold metals and black leather. Steve felt extremely out of place.

“What is this place, sir?”

Walking around the desk, the older man sat at the desk, sitting back in the seat. “This is S.H.I.E.L.D., a private division of Stark Special Forces. You’re aware of Stark’s special task teams, yes?”

Steve knew more than most, but all military officers knew that the special ops forces existed. “Of course.”

“Good, then why are you here? No one ventures into Harlem anymore. Though I suppose you wouldn’t know that, would you, being dead all these years.” The man shook his head. “Harlem isn’t really a _safe_ place for civilians anymore. It’s more of a facade though,” he clarified. “All the _vagabonds_ and _bums_ out there are agents.”

Steve narrowed his eyes in on him. “Why are you telling me all this, sir?”

“Because I know about you, Rogers. I  know all about you.” This made Steve uneasy. “I know about your childhood, how sick you were, I know that when you were sixteen, the Princess herself found Dr. Erskine and had him treat you. I know all about your fast climb through the ranks, Captain, none of it having to do with your close relationship with the Princess.”

Steve was growing more and more uneasy with all this man knew about him and he knew nothing of the man, not even his name. He knew that the man was a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent (officer?) and that was it. “I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about, sir, and considering I don’t even know your name--”

“Don’t play ignorant, Captain. It’s not becoming, especially for a man like you.” He shook his head. “As for who I am, the name’s Nick Fury.  I’m the director here at S.H.I.E.L.D. and I was appointed personally by the Princess.”

“Why are you telling me all this?” he repeated himself, having not gotten his answer.

Fury shrugged his shoulders. “We definitely weren’t expecting you to show up, Cap. You have been dead after all, but like I said, I know you, and considering you are dead, as are many of the agents outside, you’d be an asset to our organization. If you’re willing, that is.”

Steve didn’t know what to think. His head was spinning and he couldn’t shake the thoughts of Toni from his head. He just wanted to see her. “You said the Princess selected you personally?”

Fury smiled, and Steve had the funny feeling that he knew that would have caught Steve’s attention. “Of course she did. Do you think she’d want just anyone in her elite task force?”

Steve kept his smile at that thought of her to himself. “Of course not. How can I help?”

“Now we’re talkin!”

Steve had no idea what he’d been getting himself into when he started talking to Director Fury, but when he’d mentioned that Toni had chosen him specifically, that not just anyone was let into Toni’s elite task force, he was all in. There wasn’t anything Steve wouldn’t do for Toni. She wasn’t just his Princess, she was everything in the world to him. There was no question about joining her elite task force. He was dead after all, as Fury had told him that most if not all the agents in the organization were.

Steve had asked Fury about the extra security at the Castle. Fury told him that the Princess had been attacked by Hydra and that she’d nearly lost her life not long before Steve arrived back in Manhattan. Steve had insisted profusely that Fury take him to her. It wasn’t something Fury could do, but he promised, the Princess would be in touch with S.H.I.E.L.D. when she was able. Steve didn't like this. He needed to see her. She had almost died and he hadn’t been there with her. She had believed he had died and hadn’t come back to her. He wanted to go to her and let her know that he had come back and that he was never leaving again. Yes, he wanted to serve the kingdom, he wanted to serve Her, but he never wanted to be away from her ever again.

Going along with what Fury said wasn’t easy. Helping out The Avengers, the seemingly vigilante group of people who actually were agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., helped distract him from worrying about Toni. She didn’t make near as many public appearances as she used to. When he saw her on TV for the first time, he noticed something on her chest, a glowing light and he’d immediately asked Fury about it. He’d told Steve it was something she’d called an ARC reactor, an innovative device made of a titanium alloy that encased a new element of synthesized vibranium that was powering an electromagnet, that was keeping a piece of shrapnel from from getting to her heart. Fury explained how the ARC reactor had been replacement for the original metal and palladium the doctors had originally put in. The titanium alloy wouldn’t cause any blood poisoning like the original device would have and had slowly begun to do.

The thought of what Toni must be going through, being shut away from the world because of it behind the heavy detail of her security, without anyone, drove him crazy. He wanted to go to her but Fury continued to remind him that in time she’d come to them. He had to believe the man. Even though he was working with The Avengers, he still didn’t trust him and he wasn’t too sure he trusted them either. However, they all seemed to trust him. Why, he wasn’t sure, but he wasn’t going to outwardly question it. He was sure that since he was dead, this was the only way he would be able to see Toni. He couldn’t just walk up to the Castle gates as he had when he’d arrived back in Manhattan. He resigned himself to waiting for her to come to them.

Steve turned abruptly when he heard the loud slam of the metal doors against the walls and a sharp feminine voice addressing “Fury!” He blinked as the woman dressed in a tight, hot rod red outfit that looked almost like it had gold medieval chainmail woven into it, approached the head of the table where Fury was debriefing The Avengers after their mission that night. “I thought I said we weren’t going after common street criminals anymore!” The woman’s voice came out metallically, covering up who she was even more than the mask she wore over her face. Her long dark hair cascaded down her back behind her… The curled locks reminded him of Toni’s.

“You did,” Fury nodded, not backing down at the woman’s harsh tones. “Though the law officers still can’t be everywhere all the time.”

“You don’t get to make that decision, Nick! And another thing,” she said, turning to look at the team sitting at the table, about to address them when her eyes landed on Steve. The cowl he’d worn while out with The Avengers was off his head and laying down over his back. Her dark eyes narrowed in on him and he felt his heart clench in his chest. “Everyone out!” she snapped at everyone sitting at the table and everyone, even Steve, quickly scurried to their feet to leave. “You stay.”

“I wouldn’t…” Fury started, but the woman lifted her hand to silence him.

“Out.” She shook her head at Steve. “Not you.”

Fury sighed, shaking his head and Steve could have sworn, even though his attention was on the woman standing in front of him, that the man slightly genuflected before stepping around her and walking out of the room the direction the woman had come in and the others had left, shutting the door behind him. The woman didn’t move for a very long time. She simply stood there, her eyes searing a hole into his soul. He didn’t know whether to speak or to wait for her to say something. He decided the latter was a better option, considering Fury didn’t take orders from anyone and he didn’t do much more than attempt to reason with her before doing exactly as she’d said. Steve would wait out her silence.

Slowly, the woman walked around the table to where Steve was sitting, practically stalking him like a tigress on the prowl. He wouldn’t show fear though, he felt no need for fear. There was nothing to be afraid of, he felt it. As she came up to stand in front of him, she stood there. Eyes unreadable. Lips tightly pursed together in a straight line. He had no idea what to think or what to do, so he simply sat there.

Within the blink of an eye, the distance between the two of them vanished and Steve felt her lips crash against his. It didn’t even take a moment for Steve to realize who it was behind the mask, responding to her immediately. He stood, his arms wrapping around her tiny waist, pulling her against him. She tightened her arms around his neck as he lifted her from the ground. Her legs wrapped around his waist and his hand slid down to her ass to hold her there. Their lips didn’t part for several moments. The only thing that mattered was this kiss in this moment. Steve was drowning in it, finding himself whole and alive again for the first time since he’d left her almost seven years ago. He was home.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Life should never get in the way of writing, but unfortunately it does. CONTINUE! It will be worth it!


	4. Death Cannot Stop True Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Captain and the Princess reunite. Will it be smooth sailing from here on out? Where's the story in that?

Toni couldn’t believe that Fury had actually gone behind her back and done exactly what she had said The Avengers needed to stop doing. She had sent down notice to the royal chief of law enforcement that they needed to increase their efforts and their numbers if needs be. Their performance was inexcusable. The Avengers needed to be focusing on the bigger crimes, terrorism crimes like the one that had almost taken her life. She didn’t assemble this super secret boy band to be battling lower-end felonious activity. Sure, someone needed to because apparently her law enforcement officials weren’t doing what they were actually paid to do.

If they had been doing their jobs, vigilante groups (as The Avengers seemingly were) wouldn’t be doing what they were doing. It wasn’t as though there were a lot of them, but the rest of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were classified the same way. It’s why they were in Harlem. That little bit of space was specifically designated for the seemingly vigilante miscreants. The masses had no clue that Toni herself had organized S.H.I.E.L.D. and assembled the tiny group known as The Avengers. They were unofficially sanctioned (and led) by the Princess herself, and Toni loved that about it.

Pepper had followed Toni out of the Castle and across the courtyard to Stark Tower. Taking her private entrance and walking down the secluded hallway, Toni walked with Pepper at her side. In public, Pepper had to walk a few paces behind Toni but had to be at her side the instant she stopped. In private, Toni could care less. Pepper wasn’t just her assistant. Pepper was probably her best friend, if you didn’t count Rhodey, but Rhodey was half a world away. For the most part, it was better for Toni that way.

Steve had been in Rhodey’s battalion when he’d gone missing. Everytime she spoke to Rhodey, she couldn’t help but think about that, but he was still her friend. She wasn’t about to shut him out of her life just because he reminded her of Steve. Everything reminded her of Steve, so that was no excuse to stop being friends with Rhodes. She’d known him since she was taking courses at MIT. They’d had a brief thing after he’d come home to personally tell her what had happened to Steve, he was one of a few people who had ever made her feel something beyond the meaningless one nighters after Steve’s death. She couldn’t love him though. She’d given her heart away long ago and didn’t want it back.

The same had happened with Pepper. She’d hired her as her personal assistant especially since she hadn’t been someone who had specifically applied for the position. Her father had worked at Stark Tower in the accounting department and her mother was a secretary for one of the Stark Industries board members. She attended CUNY and graduated fourth in her class. Pepper’s application had been in the Stark database, having applied for an internship and Toni had stumbled on it. As it turned out, it had been fate. Pepper had turned out to be exactly what Toni needed. She was grounded, down to earth and did anything Toni asked. Above all else, she didn’t take Toni’s guff.

Toni tried several times to get Pepper into bed. It was no secret that Toni was indiscriminate about who she slept with. Christine Everhart of Vanity Fair had been the first to ask her what Toni classified herself as sexually. Toni hadn’t liked the question. The official statement printed in the spread of her in the magazine was “I don’t see the need to define myself as anything when it comes to sexuality. Human beings are subject to their passions. I am not above this myself. Who I choose to spend my time with in any capacity is my choice, just as it should for anyone else. No one should be defined by their sexuality or anything else.” Pepper had actually been proud of her for that statement.

It wasn’t as though Toni needed Pepper, or anyone for that matter, to be proud of her, but she really did like it when Pepper expressed her veneration for her. Toni really respected Pepper and her opinions. It didn’t always change the course of Toni’s decisions, but that didn’t change how she felt about her.

The two of them actually did have a brief relationship of sorts. Toni was trying everything, everything to not feel empty. It was right after she had discovered Obediah’s betrayal at the Stark Annual Benefit Dinner. It had been a year after Steve’s death just after she’d met Thor. She didn’t want to feel empty anymore and she thought that Pepper could help her with that. Stark Industry board members, council members and members of the press had been hoarding her all night. Pepper had urged her to cancel the event, but Toni wouldn’t have it. This was a benefit her mother set up years ago and Toni wasn’t about to stop tradition.

Toni had seen Pepper across the room, being hoarded the same way Toni was and she saw a need to rescue not only her but to get out of all of it herself. Politely excusing herself, she made her way across the room to pull her away from the hounding board member, Toni pulled her into her arms and started dancing with her. Pepper had been nervous, Toni had never been so blatant about wanting her, she’d made more than a few remarks about how they should hook up, but she had never actually done anything about it until that night.

She could tell that she was making Pepper self-conscious with the way she was letting her fingers play against the bare skin at her back openly granted access to by the gorgeous dress she’d been wearing. Toni liked the affect she had on people, though making Pepper stutter was truly a feat of shocking proportions, even for Toni, even if only because Pepper had never made any indication that she would ever fall to Toni’s charms. They’d both been very wrong.

Pepper had known what she was getting into from the beginning. She knew not to let herself fall for her boss, for the Princess, but she wasn’t immune to her charms like she had thought she’d been. Their tryst hadn’t lasted long. Toni cared too much for her to continue using her the way she was. It wasn’t as though anything could come of it anyway. Being in a relationship with her assistant couldn’t amount to anything. It wasn’t as though they couldn’t marry, same-sex couples were able to marry throughout the whole kingdom, but Toni wouldn’t be able to produce an heir and that was important. Pepper also had no title beyond that of Toni’s assistant and couldn’t marry her. Pepper deserved love though, real love. Toni would never deny her that and was happy to see her start seeing Happy Hogan, Toni’s most trusted bodyguard and personal driver. Toni was happy for them and excited to see the two of them become a couple. Pepper deserved someone like Happy would and could love her wholly and completely.

Taking Toni’s private elevator down to her lab, Toni rocked on her feet. The elevator was fast, but not fast enough. Avenger business was very important to her and she needed to attend to it personally. When she’d created S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avenger Initiative, she’d been wanting to actively make a difference not just by her word alone. Yes, seeing action made by her word was great, but she actually liked getting down to business and making the difference herself. Steve had taught her that words alone don’t make a difference. You had to get your hands dirty, and getting her hands dirty was something Toni really enjoyed.

“Do you really have to go out tonight, Toni?” Pepper asked as the elevator door opened.

Toni was surprised Pepper had kept her mouth shut the entire walk from the drawing room inside the Castle to the lab, but Pepper was a very patient woman, and patience was something Toni had nothing of. “Yes, Pep. I can’t just let Fury continue to disregard my order. I don’t want The Avengers dealing with low-level criminals anymore. There’s far more important matters to attend to. The law enforcement officers need to handle bank robbery and the like.” She shook her head, shrugging her shoulders. “And if they can’t, Batman can pull his weight,” she said with a slight smirk.

Pepper disregarded the comment about the caped crusader, continuing on with what was truly concerning her. “That doesn’t change the fact that it hasn’t even been two months since you almost died and you need to rest some more.”

“I can’t sit back and do nothing, I’ve been sitting around and doing nothing for two months, too long. I’m not going out on a mission with them, I’m just going down to see Fury. He needs to know that just because I’ve been out of commission while I’ve been convalescing, doesn’t mean I am not still in charge.”

“Then why can’t you just call him?” Pepper asked, following Toni over to the far wall just short of Toni’s private car collection.

Toni looked back at her as a wall panel opened to reveal a hot rod red colored suit made of an aramid fiber laced together with titanium alloy polymer blend threads in a chainmail-like pattern. The suit was a design of Toni’s own. She was particularly proud of it. It concealed her identity perfectly with the half mask that accompanied it. She’d spent as much time lately working on it to reinforce the bust area to conceal the ARC reactor at her chest. That would reveal who she was in no time and she couldn’t have that. She was very proud of her ARC reactor, very insistent on showing it off to the world and to Hydra to show them that she couldn’t be kept down, though as the Iron Maiden, the name coined for her while in her suit and leading The Avengers, it had to be obscured. The Avengers Initiative was more important than being able to prove her invincibility.

“Pepper…” Toni shook her head and pulled her hair forward over her shoulder for Pepper to unzip her shirt. “You know very well the multitude of reasons why I can’t just call Director Fury. First of all, he’s a deadman. Most of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents are dead, ghosts. They don’t even exist anymore. I can’t just get on the line and call him.”

“You do have your comm system. It’s range is greater than the vicinity of the 5 boroughs. You can reach him.”

Toni sighed as she pulled the corset shirt she was wearing from her shoulders. The comm system had been modified from the direct connection device she’d been working on when Steve disappeared and the distance was increased exponentially, not only reaching the distance of the five boroughs, but practically the entire length of the country, almost three thousand miles. Even at that range though it still wouldn’t have been able to allow her to communicate with Steve when he’d been in Afghanistan… when he had been alive. She’d barely been able to extend the range just beyond the state lines at the time but not even that far out to sea. Not that it mattered now for that purpose, but at least she’d found another application for the device.

“No,” Toni said simply, “I need to go down there. It’s not just the unauthorized mission tonight, Pep. Fury has added another member to the team without my approval! You saw him, the man with the blue suit.”

Pepper shook her head. “I didn’t realize.”

Of course she hadn’t. Even if she had noticed the new guy, how was she to know that Toni hadn’t approved of the agent specifically. Pepper stayed out of S.H.I.E.L.D. business. That was an area that she wanted nothing to do with, and Toni was alright with that. Plausible deniability. She was one of only two people, Fury being the other one, who knew that Toni Stark was actually the Iron Maiden, the leader of The Avengers, but if that was all she knew, there was no way anyone could question her on anything.

“So I need to go down there,” Toni told her again, reaching out and pulling the suit from the stand that held it. She knew Pepper understood how important the Avengers Initiative and S.H.I.E.L.D. was to her.

“Just promise not to go out on a mission while you’re out.”

Toni smiled back at her as Pepper was fastening the outfit. “Yes, dear.” Smiling softly, she turned and tilted her head up to press her lips to the side of Pepper’s mouth. “Thank you,” she whispered against her lips before pulling back to look up into Pepper’s deep brown eyes. They may not be together romantically anymore, but Toni was glad Pepper still cared for her. She was glad she had someone like Pepper in her corner.

Turning now with the suit on and conforming to her body as she moved, she sat to pull on her very steampunk-esque boots. They were the same color of her suit and an aramid fiber material, but they weren’t any typical pair of boots. She’d added a few bells and whistles to them, most importantly, to help her be able to fly -- it also gave her an edge against assailants. She was really proud of the design on her suit, but as she stood to make sure everything was in working order, she realized there was one thing about it she wasn’t so happy about anymore. She had made the adjustments to to the suit to shroud her ARC reactor and she knew she couldn’t afford any speculation (or rather flat out revealing) that she, the Princess, was Iron Maiden.

Looking up at Pepper, she stood, giving her a slight smirk. “Don’t wait up.”

Pepper simply shook her head. “Just be safe.”

Toni gave her a soft nod and turned to fly out the shaft she’d had built in to come out in a secluded and concealed area of the courtyard. All of the agents she had working for her in S.H.I.E.L.D. brought one thing or another to the table, and she’d found a few who had been trained in construction. They’d had to be blindfolded and ear-plugged before brought to Stark Tower and down into her lab. She’d had her cars relocated temporarily as well. No one but Pepper and Nick Fury knew she was Iron Maiden.

The flight from Stark Tower to S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ on Lenox Boulevard took less than ten minutes. Flying places as Iron Maiden took far less time than driving or walking. Of course, Toni would never walk to Harlem, almost 5 miles. No one walked that much in the city, not even those who didn’t like public transportation. Though flying as the Iron Maiden was a freeing feeling. There was nothing quite like flying, outside of a jet.

Toni did have her pilot’s licence though. She’d asked her father once when she was younger if she could get it, but he told her that a princess’ place, a _girl’s_ place, wasn’t in the cockpit of a jet. It was one of the things she’d chosen to drown herself in after Steve’s death. Of course, she could have had anyone teach her at any time, but she’d asked Rhodey.

She was still sleeping around with anyone she cared to, even those she could have cared less about, and Rhodey knew this, but she was the Princess, he knew he couldn’t rightfully ask for her fidelity, especially not since having just lost the love of her life. Toni knew he loved her and she shouldn’t have taken advantage of him romantically as she had, but Rhodey never once complained. Sure, there had been the times when he’d say things like if only he’d been born a prince, or even a lord, he would marry her and take care of her forever, but he’d laugh it off. His station in life had nothing to do with why Toni couldn’t give her heart to him, she knew that he knew that.

Their relationship worked though. He provided her solace at a time when she’d needed it most. It was really him and not the alcohol and bed hopping that had gotten her through the harsh realization that she would have to live her life without the one person who had meant the world to her. When nothing else worked for her, she turned to him. He was always there for her, waiting with open arms (and an open bed) and he never turned her away. She knew he should, but he never did. It was because of that that they were still friends to this day, despite the fact that she kept him at arm’s length now.

It was during that time that she’d asked him to stay home and teach her how to fly. He’d questioned it at first, but she promised him she wasn’t going to use a jet to send her to an early grave. She could do that easily enough with the alcohol alone, but she reminded him of when she’d told him when they were in MIT together that she wanted to learn, but her father had prohibited it. Rhodey promised he would stay and teach her and get her licensed before he returned to the war. She’d almost begged him not to return, but she knew she couldn’t do that anymore than she could have asked Steve not to go, but they had each chosen to go. It wouldn’t be right for her to demand either of them stay just because she wanted them to. She should have but didn’t.

Touching down on the street just outside of S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ, she headed inside without a moment’s pause, making her way directly for to debriefing room. That’s where The Avengers always met after a mission. They’d discuss what they’d done, what they should have done and what they could do better next time. This had been an impromptu mission to impede a bank robber, but Nick would still have The Avengers back at HQ afterward going over every possible angle of the extempore operation. It’s what he did, it was protocol, and it was what she herself had mandated.

Approaching the doors, she flung them open loudly and without care. “Fury!” she snapped, walking over to Director Fury directly, not bothering to look at anyone else in the room. She came up to him, not leaving more than a foot or two between the two of them. “I thought I said we weren’t going after common street criminals anymore!” A mechanism built into her mask changed her voice as usual so that the others in the group as well as no one else hearing her voice when they were out on missions had no clue who she was.

“You did,” Fury nodded shortly, “though the law officers still can’t be everywhere all the time.”

“You don’t get to make that decision, Nick!” she reminded him, her tone still harsh and unforgiving. “And another thing,” she said, turning to look at The Avengers sitting at the table. She was about to berate him for bringing the new team member in without her clearance, but was immediately silenced by the face she saw sitting in front of her. She felt all the blood rush from her head and she found herself lightheaded and dizzy. She couldn’t blame this on having not recovered yet completely. Sure, she had yelled at Fury, but that had nothing to do with the way her head was spinning and the room was closing in on her.

She was looking at a ghost. Yes, S.H.I.E.L.D. was nothing but ghosts, but this one was a real ghost, a man who had been killed by pirates. This ghost was a man whose face she saw every night when she slept, the only face who filled her dreams, the good and the bad. This was a ghost who shouldn’t be here, yet here he was, sitting in front of her with the rest of her team as though he belonged. He shouldn’t be here. There was no way he could be here, yet here he was. Living. Breathing. And looking right at her.

“Everyone out!” Her voice came out sharp even with the metallic sound the voice changer gave. Everyone sitting at the table quickly got up to leave even the newcomer, but she stopped him posthaste. “You stay!”

Fury took a step toward her. “I wouldn’t--”

Raising her hand, she silenced him. “Out.” Her eyes remained locked on the man in front of her still sitting at the table. “Not you.”

At that, Fury acquiesced. She didn’t have to look at him to know that he was shaking his head in disapproval at her. She could feel that he had bowed to her slightly before he left, but she didn’t care, nor was she even paying attention to him anymore. Her attention was solely on the man sitting in front of her, nothing and no one else.

She was sure she was dreaming. She’d long ago stopped dreaming that Steve would come back to her. There were nights she’d still dreamed that he’d never died and that they were happy together, but the dreams of him coming back to her had died a long time ago. Why she was seeing him now like this was beyond her. There was no way this was real though, it had to be a dream. There was no way that he would just show up after all these years in her special task force as though nothing ever happened. There was no way.

Yet here he was. There was no reasoning for this except that he was alive. Nothing else mattered. Nothing and no one else in the world ever mattered to her like Steve did. No more analyzing, no more processing, without any more thought she was instantly in front of him. Her lips met his and her arms wrapped around his neck in one lightning-fast moment. She smiled against his lips as his lips promptly responded to hers. He wrapped his arms around her, standing and lifting her off the floor. Toni wrapped her legs around his waist now and she couldn’t, didn’t even want to, stop the moan that escaped her lips as his hands slid down to grip at her ass. She was happy to hear that her moan was eagerly taken into his mouth as he hungrily kissed her.

Toni felt alive for the first time in six years. For the first time since she’d heard he was dead; actually, for the first time since he’d left her seven years ago, she truly felt alive again. Holding him, Steve holding her, touching him, Steve touching her, breathing him, tasting him, it all made life surge through her veins to her very soul. He was alive. He was alive and she was truly alive again. She couldn’t believe it, but she could feel it, she could feel him.

“Toni! My God, Toni!”

She moaned against his lips, shaking her head slightly. “Don’t stop. Just kiss me. Kiss me, Steve. Make it all go away. Make everything to away.”

With that, she felt him turn her slightly and then her back was laid down against the hard wood of the table. The material of her suit pulled a bit on the table, much like leather on skin, but it didn’t stop Steve from moving her more onto it and laying his body down on hers. “Yes!” she gasped, turning her head slightly as his lips trailed down from her neck. Her fingers laced into his hair and she moaned even more. This was exactly what she wanted. He was what she wanted, what she needed. He always had been, and now he was home, there in her arms and kissing her.

But kissing wasn’t going be enough. It wasn’t going to be enough for either of them. She could feel it. She could feel him, hard, pressing up against her core through both of the superhero (for lack of a better term) suits they both wore. Her suit was made to move and conform to her body, it breathed so she didn’t sweat, but that wasn’t going to be relevant soon enough. She needed him. She needed to be out of her Avengers suit, and he needed to be out of what apparently was his, and for him to be deep inside her.

She needed this. So many nights she’d awaken from a dream of him, of making love to him, and she’d felt so profoundly empty and nothing would or could ever fill that void. Except for him. Except for now. He was home. He was there with her and she was never letting go of him ever again. There were several questions she had to ask, several things she needed to say, but right now, the only thing that mattered was washing away all the pain and emptiness she’d felt all these years and to do the same for him, and she knew the only way that was going to happen was for them to make love right now. She didn’t care that they were in the middle of the S.H.I.E.L.D. debriefing room. She needed him.

“Steve!” she cried out in a heavy breath, searching his suit for the fastenings to get it undone and off of him.

As if he could sense what she was grasping for, he pulled away from her to undo something behind his neck and then pull his shirt off for her. Toni’s breath caught in her throat and she lifted her hand to touch him, completely awestruck at how much more he’d developed into the Adonis before her. She’d forgotten that her own suit was still on down to the gloves on her hands. Groaning in frustration, she sat up closer to him and reached behind her to pull at the hidden zipper in her own suit.

His hands were there to help her peel it off over her shoulders before the zipper was even completely down. He drew the formfitting material from her body but suddenly froze, his eyes locked on the ARC reactor glowing from her chest. Sighing, she pulled her arms from the suit before planting her hands behind her so he could look at it better. He shifted slightly so he was kneeling between her legs and she just waited. She wanted so much to tell him to forget it that they could talk about it later, but she knew it wasn’t as simple as that. He needed time to process this.

Slowly, he lifted a hand to touch it, but stopped, his eyes only then moving from the device in her chest to look up into hers. He sighed, letting his hand move up farther and pulling the mask from her face over the top of her head. Placing it down on the table beside the two of them, he shook his head, his eyes full of … so much emotion he couldn’t even explain as they averted back down to look at the ARC reactor.

“Fury told me…” His voice broke and it tore at her heart with the pain she heard there. “I’d seen pictures in the magazines, you on the tv,” he shook his head, “but this…”

“You can touch it,” she spoke softly. “It doesn’t hurt.”

His eyes looked up into hers again as if searching to see if she was sure and she nodded gently, giving him a warm smile. He looked back down and slowly reached his hand back up to touch along the curve of the titanium casing holding the glowing triangle of synthesized vibranium she’d made in her lab not even three weeks ago. His fingers caressed the side of the casing where the side of her bra rested and she felt a chill run up and down her spine as if he were actually touching her skin and not the invention at her cleavage.

“Not at all?” he asked, his eyes intent on the light as though it was mesmerizing him.

She smiled softly. “The skin around it is a bit sensitive and sore like in the mornings when I wake up and I’ve rolled onto my stomach. It’s been difficult learning how not to sleep on my stomach,” she said with a soft laugh, hoping to help him relax. “I’ll get used to it.”

He looked up at her, no laughter in his eyes from her words at all. “You almost died,” he choked, tears brimming in the lower lids of his eyes.

“You did die,” she whispered, sitting up more again and wrapping her arms around him. “But none of that matters now. We’re both alive and no one is going anywhere."

She felt him inhale deeply at her neck through her hair. “I could have lost you.”

She closed her eyes tightly, not repeating her sentiment once more that she had lost him just as he had died. He was hurting, trying to deal with the fact that she had almost died. She couldn’t take that away from him. Dealing with his death had been a long process, one that hadn’t ended until today with him being alive. She would simply let him hold her for him to realize that she was alright and that she wasn’t going anywhere. She’d take her time and do the exact same thing with him later. This time, nothing would ever take him from her, and she would make sure of it.

Pulling back slowly, she smiled gently at him. “Touch me, Steve,” she spoke barely on a whisper. “Touch me and you’ll see I’m ok. You’ll _feel_ that I’m ok.”

Looking back down at her chest, Steve slowly leaned in and pressed his lips to the sensitive skin at the curve of her breast where the ARC reactor was embedded into her skin. Toni hadn’t been with anyone since the accident, but to have his touch there, for him to be the one to first have her first after she’d almost died was more than right.

Running her fingers through his hair, she looked down at him, whispering, “Make love to me, Steve.”

He pulled his head back and looked up into her eyes. His eyes reflected the desire and longing Toni was feeling. The time that had separated them had been terrible for each of them. His ostensible death had kept them apart far longer and almost indefinitely than she knew either of them wanted before she’d seen him tonight sitting amongst the rest of her team of Avengers. Had she listened to Pepper and not come out to S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ to rebuke Fury for the misconduct of his actions by sending The Avengers out on an unapproved mission, she wouldn’t have known he was back. Now that he was, she was never letting him go ever again.

The intensity of the emotion she felt from him rivaled her own that was flowing through her body. She was truly feeling alive for the first time since he’d left so many years ago. The pain was gone. He was home and he was in her arms. She was in his. Steve slowly leaned up and pressed his lips to hers again, laying her back down onto the table. She pulled him to her more, never going to let him go again. She needed this. _They_ needed this.

Toni shivered as his hands slid down over her sides. No one’s touch felt like his, no one ever felt like him. She had given him her heart years ago and she could truly feel it beating once more, now that he was back with her. She felt his fingers grip at her suit where she’d left it at her waist halfway off her body. Lifting her hips, she helped him pull the skintight material from her body. He peeled it from her legs and dropped it aside, sliding his hand up one of her calves as he looked into her eyes.

“You’ve changed so much, Toni,” he said, his voice heavy, almost sinfully lustful. It turned Toni on so much.

“I’m still me,” she told him, licking her lips and reaching for him to help him with his pants.

He watched as her tiny hands worked with his to get his pants off of him. “You are, but… God, Toni.”

She slid her hands inside his pants and around his hips, over his ass, slipping inside his underwear over his tight posterior. “What is it?” she asked, moaning softly as she gripped at the tight ass muscles in her hands and eliciting a low groan from his throat at the same time. “How have I changed?”

She loved watching the intense emotions washing across his face as he searched for words. She could tell she was making it difficult for him to think let alone talk. “So… you’re not so young anymore.”

Toni couldn’t help but chuckle softly. “I’ve never been that young, Steve,” she told him, pulling his pants and underwear from his body very slowly, her eyes locked on his.

“But…” he exhaled a bit uneasily, “you--” he sighed, shaking his head. “Fuck!”

“Mmmm,” Toni moaned, using her feet to get his suit out of the way, “You need to swear more often, Steve. That’s fucking hot.” She had no clue he could say things like that. He always used to comment on her use of colorful metaphors, but… that wasn’t important right now. She wasn’t going to think about what had changed him. She liked hearing the dirty word out of his mouth. “I want to hear more!”

Shaking his head, he quickly leaned in and captured her mouth with his, taking a chuckle into his mouth. She still had her panties and her bra on, the only pieces of material keeping the two of them apart. They needed to come off. She slid her hands over his sides and down to the front clasp of her bra that affixed just below the curve of the ARC reactor. Her shirts and dresses weren’t the only items of her clothing that were completely altered to accommodate the new fashion accessory between her breasts.

Steve pulled back and looked down at her and she saw his eyes darken as she pulled the bra from her breasts and off of her arms. She knew the look, it was lust. Fuck, it was the hottest fucking thing coming from Steve’s eyes. Her eyes closed and her mouth dropped open as he reached between them and took one of her breasts in his big hand. His hands were still huge, but her breasts filled them out a bit more than they had seven years ago. Maybe she understood what he was meaning when he said she wasn’t so young anymore. She had a woman’s body, more curved and filled out than it had been when she was fourteen or fifteen. He was bigger too.

The thought of that, of him being _bigger_ , made her ache deep inside. “Fuck, Steve! I need you! Fuck!”

He growled loudly and it sent a shock down her spine to her clit. She was throbbing and soaking wet in her panties that he was finally sliding his hands down over her hips and gripping at them to pull from her body. He wasn’t moving all that slowly but it was too fucking slow for her. She needed to feel him inside her. She needed to have him back where he belonged. She needed him now.

Helping him kick her panties away, she gripped at his hips, pulling her to him. “Please, Steve,” her voice came out more softly this time, gently pleading with him. She was never supplicating with anyone. She always demanded things from everyone she was with. Never with Steve. He was her equal not her subject. He never had been and never would be her subject. He was her equal and he always had been from the moment they’d met.

Her eyes locked with his as he pulled her legs up over his hips. “I love you, Toni,” he whispered as she felt his hips shift slightly before he slid deep within her.

Toni’s mouth dropped open and her eyes widened in surprise as her walls stretched to fit him. She was breathless. How he could possibly be bigger now than he had been before he left was beyond her, but it was incredible, the way he filled her, stretched her, so completely. He felt so good inside her. She felt whole and complete in a way that no one but Steve could make her feel.

“I love you!” she gasped out. “Steve! Steve!” His name was a praise on her lips. No one ever deserved it the way he did and she wanted him to know. She wanted him to know just how good he felt from being inside her alone. He hadn’t even started moving yet.

His lips covered her mouth in a soft kiss and she parted her lips to his questing tongue. She let her tongue slide against his as he started to move inside her. If there was a god as Steve believed in, she would definitely thank him for Steve. She would thank him for Steve being alive. She would thank him for having Steve in her life. She would thank him for Steve because she knew she was the lucky one to have him in her life. No one was luckier than she was and she knew it.

His lips trailed down over her jaw and she stretched her neck so he could get at it better. Gasping out, she pulled him more to her as she lifted her hips up to meet his movement. The table moved slightly beneath them with the intensity of their movements, even if they weren’t that hard or fast just yet, but Steve was strong. Toni loved how powerful he was. She loved feeling the strength he had now. It had been a lot before he left after he got better and started to build his muscular body mass, but now… now she could feel that he was holding back even if she didn’t want him to. She wanted to feel all he had to give her.

“More!” she begged of him. She needed to feel all he could give her. She knew he was there, she knew it, but she really needed to feel it. “Don’t hold back! Please!”

She could see the hesitation in his face, but she he still nodded gently for her, pressing his lips back to hers softly. The kiss was brief, but she could feel all the emotion he was trying to help her feel with that kiss before he pulled from her just enough to really give her a really good thrust. She cried out in euphoric ecstasy.

“Yesssss!” she cried out her back arching, pressing herself more up to him. “More! Please, Steve! Please!”

He didn’t deny her. He never had. The way he moved in her was incredible. She almost knew he was still holding back, but he gave her what she was sure he was willing to give and it was glorious. Fuck, no one ever made her feel like this. She soared high, higher than ever before on the most blissful high she’d ever felt from sex, but she knew, this wasn’t just sex. She was making love to Steve. He’d been the only one she’d ever made love to and the only one she ever would make love to. She had fallen in love with him forever ago and not even death had ended that. Death could never kill true love.

“Toni!” Steve gasped out and she lifted herself more to him.

“Yes, Steve. Cum for me! Let go! Fuck, please let go!”

He made the most beautiful sound she was heard she’d ever heard anyone make as she felt the hot seed fill her. She gasped out, gripping onto his shoulders as she felt her orgasm grip her and she fell over the precipice with him.

“Steeeeeeeve!” she cried out his name, doing her best to continue to move with him through their releases. No one had ever made her orgasm so quickly or so intensely in her entire life, not even him. All the years and distance that had spanned between them made everything way more acute and she held onto it as long as she could. It was breathtaking and wonderful and more than she could have ever imagined.

When Steve moved to pull out of her, she wrapped her legs around him tightly and pulled him more against her by wrapping her arms around his neck. “Please don’t move. Not yet!”

He pulled back and she couldn’t hide the tears stinging at her eyes. “Toni…”

She shook her head. “I just need to hold you. I don’t want you to pull out of me, Steve. Not just yet. I want to stay connected to you as long as possible.”

Steve lowered himself back down to lay flush against her, his arms cradling around her head as he pressed his lips gently to hers. She gratefully kissed him back, holding him more tightly against her. She couldn’t believe she was crying now. She hated crying. She downright refused to cry all but two days out of the year, but at this moment, this very moment that everything was compounding on her, she couldn’t stop the tears. Losing him. Living without him for years and years on end. Then the immeasurable happiness she felt at seeing him alive, at having him home, having him back in her arms… It was all consuming and it was overwhelming her. She couldn't even stop the tears.

Steve slowly pulled back from the kiss, his thumbs wiping at her tears. “Don’t cry, angel. Please don’t cry.”

“You’re home,” she wept silently. “You were dead and now you’re not…” Her voice choked off on her and she clenched her eyes tightly shut.

“Shhhh,” he whispered softly, kissing her eyelids gently. “Shhhh. I’m here. I’m here. I’m never going anywhere ever again. I swear it.”

Opening her eyes, she swallowed. “I’ll never let you. Never ever again.”

He gave her a gentle smile. “I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you the first time. I just wanted to serve you.”

She shook her head. “I never wanted you to serve me. I just wanted you to love me.”

“I’ve always loved you.”

She swallowed again, this time more harshly. “I love you, Steve. There’s never been anyone else, no one has ever meant to me, been to me what you are. I’m not going to lose you ever again.”

“You never will.”

She took his words as the vow he was giving them. She would never let him leave again. There was no way she was ever letting him return to Afghanistan. There was no way he’d return to fight that war. Yet he was here, at S.H.I.E.L.D. Fury had brought him into her special ops team, albeit without her say so, something he’d never done before. She knew she should hold him accountable for making unauthorized decisions regarding letting someone she hadn’t approved into the team, but considering who it was, she couldn’t bring herself to want to.

“So,” she smiled, doing her best to stop her tears, “you’re an Avenger now, huh?”

Steve returned her smile and slowly pulled from her only to lay down beside her on the table and draw her into his arms more along his side. “Are you ok with that, boss?”

Toni’s smile grew and slightly turned to a smirk. “He told you, huh?”

“Well, he didn’t tell me you were an Avenger yourself. None of the others said anything about the beautiful dame in red leather and chainmail either.”

“Dame?” she challenged, arching her eyebrow at him. “Dame, am I?” She wasn’t going to correct him on the material of the suit as she did with everyone else. That wasn’t important right now.

“Beautiful dame,” Steve repeated, not backing down.

Toni couldn’t help but laugh. “Always too good to be true, Steve,” she said, turning her head slightly to press her lips softly to his. Pulling back she gently rested her head against his arm, a perfect pillow, and smiled softly at him. “None of the others know it’s me, Steve. It has to stay that way.”

He nodded. “I understand. They seem to trust me for some reason, but I’m not so sure I can trust any of them, really, not even Director Fury.”

“Of course they trust you, Steve,” she said almost incredulously. “You’re you. Everyone can trust you.” He smiled, pretty much blushing, and she continued speaking. “They’re all good agents, good people, but I don’t blame you about feeling like you can’t trust them. They’re all ghosts, people that don’t exist, shadows. I understand you not trusting them,” she smiled softly, lifting a hand to run her fingers through his hair, “but you can.” She nodded slightly. “I do. I trust them with my life. You can too.”

Steve inhaled deeply and looked down from her eyes to the ARC reactor. Lifting his hand, he gently ran his fingers along the curve of the titanium alloy casing. She licked her lips and curled her fingers to run the backs of them along the side of his face.

“I am ok, I promise. The device has been tested. It’s not going to hurt me. It’s keeping me alive.”

“Fury said something about a piece of shrapnel too close to your heart to operate and take it out?” he asked, not looking up at her, his eyes locked on the gadget between her breasts.

She released a shaky breath. “Maybe some day. It’s too close. They wouldn’t dare. I could have made them.”

His eyes snapped up to her. “No! If it’s too dangerous, no!”

She smiled softly, letting her thumb softly caress his bottom lip. “I won’t,” she promised on a soft whisper feeling him relax in her arms. She understood his fear. She had lost him. She knew exactly the pain he was imagining. She would never do that to him. “Not until they can without a smidgen of doubt that they can safely do it, I won’t even consider it.”

“Good,” he was barely able to whisper. “We’ve lived without each other far too long, Toni,” he shook his head slightly, “never again.”

Toni leaned in and pressed her lips softly to his again, whispering there, “Promise.” Pulling back, she ran her fingers gently through his hair. “How long have you been back?”

“Almost two months,” he answered silently. “Fury told me it wasn’t long after Hydra... “ Steve shook his head, not finishing his sentence. She understood why he wouldn’t want to. He got choked up too easily over the glowing light at her chest. The way he’d reacted when he’d first seen it, she couldn’t expect it to be easy for him right now. “I had no idea you were an Avenger though.”

She let a soft laugh escape her lips. “Likewise! I came down here to scold Nick about pulling a new teammate in that I hadn’t authorized, but when I saw you…” She shook her head. “I don’t think I will now.”

Steve smiled brightly, that smile that melted her down to her very core. “I think the reason he did recruit me because… He knew about us. He’s a sly bastard.”

Toni snickered, shaking her head slightly. “I’ve got to tell you, obscene words coming out of your mouth, it’s a real turn on for me.” Steve blushed again and again, she felt her core pool from melting. It always had and it always would. “How’d you get such a potty mouth?”

“Life of a pirate, I guess…” HIs voice trailed off before he took a deep breath. “A soldier too.”

“You’ve been through so much…”

Shaking his head, he shrugged it off. “It was worse with the Islamists than it ever was with the pirates.”

“So that’s how the pirates got you!” She sighed, shaking her head. “I could never figure out how you got out to sea and were kidnapped by pirates!”

“Honestly, I’d say they saved me, even if they didn’t return me.”

“How did you escape?”

She had thought that he’d been killed. She’d sent scores of ships out, searching for the Dread Pirate Roberts’ ship, but it was pretty much like the Black Pearl, a ghost ship. The only time it showed up was when they were attacking other vessels. Some of Her vessels had gone missing, men dead. Anyone who served her went to their death with honor, so she couldn’t feel bad about it. She had sent them out in retaliation for killing the man she loved. She wouldn’t feel bad for it.

“I didn’t… It’s uh… a bit confusing.”

“I’m all ears,” she told him.

He chuckled, running his fingers through her hair. “I guess the short version is I’m technically now Roberts…”

“What?” she asked, chuckling because she truly didn’t understand what he’d just said.

“It’s true. His ship, my ship, is actually docked in Hell’s Kitchen in the Hudson.”

Toni was trying to grasp what he was saying. “Where are all the pirates?”

“Montoya, the last Dread Pirate Roberts, decided he wanted to retire. He wanted me to take over for him, I couldn’t. I couldn’t be a pirate.” Toni smiled. Of course her Steve couldn’t be a pirate. He didn’t have a swashbuckling bone in his body. “So, instead of taking on a new crew like the previous Roberts always did, Montoya simply told me the ship was mine, whatever loot was on ship was mine, and I came home to you.”

“He just let you go?!?” Toni asked, unable to even fathom that the pirate had kept him alive all these years much less let him go.

“Pirates are pirates for different reasons, Toni.”

“Steve, do you hear what you’re saying? This is Stockholm Syndrome is what this is! Are you saying you are actually defending the man who held you captive, the man who I believed killed,” her voice was very harsh on that specific word, “you? I won’t believe that!”

Steve sighed, shaking his head. “I’m not defending him, but --”

“No buts, Steve! You are! You’re defending the man I have hated even more than I hated bin Laden! He’s the one who took you from me! I’m sorry, but I can’t accept that!”

Steve shushed her and pulled her closer to him. “Hey, I’m here. I’m here, Toni. And I’m never going anywhere ever again.”

Toni was getting angry. She wanted to kill the fucking … she didn’t even know of a word bad enough to call him, and considering she used pretty much every derogatory, demeaning word in the book, that had to be saying something. Pulling herself from his arms, she slid off the table to grab her underwear. She was livid.

“How could you fucking defend the man who kept you from me?” She picked up her panties and pulled them on, standing to glare at him. The anger was really directed at the fucking pirate but the daggers from her eyes went directly toward Steve and she couldn’t help it. “You were dead, Steve! Dead! I mourned you! I was still grieving before I walked into this room and saw you sitting here like nothing ever happened! For you to sit there and pretend that he didn’t--”

“I’m not pretending as though what he did was right!” Steve barked back. “I’m only saying that he didn’t kill me. I’m here! I’m alive and it’s because he didn’t kill me.”

“Oh, so you’re saying I should grant him pardon for having kept you captive and made me believe you were fucking dead!” She shook her head. “I’m sorry, but I just can’t fucking do that, Steve. I won’t do that!”

Steve sighed, sliding off the table and taking a step out toward her. Reaching out, he took his hands from where she had them placed on her hips. Leave it to Steve to dare try to calm her by touching her when she was angry. Not even Pepper did that. “Toni, angel,” he smiled at her (he really fucking smiled at her at a time like this!), “I am here. I’m home and I’m never going anywhere ever again.”

Toni was beyond angry, and his words weren’t calming her at all, but his touch, his closeness, the actual fact of his words, the fact that he was standing there right in front of her, touching her, talking to her (fuck, he’d just made love to her!), was what was actually doing it. The fucker deserved to pay even more than bin Laden had. Bin Laden had started the war that took Steve away from her, but whoever this Montoya fucker was, he made her believe Steve was dead and he deserved a far worse fate than bin Laden had gotten. She knew Steve wouldn’t let her and she couldn’t make herself go behind his back and do it. She didn’t want to upset him like that. No one else could keep her from doing anything she wanted to do, not like this.

“You know you are never allowed to leave ever again!”

Steve smiled down at her, pulling her hands up to his lips. “As you wish.”

Letting go of the tenseness in her body over her anger, she relaxed against him and he rested his forehead against hers. “I can’t believe you’re just wanting me to forget what he did,” she said softly, none of the anger left in her voice.

“You don’t have to forget,” Steve whispered, dropping her hands and wrapping his arms around her waist. “I’m just saying it’s not worth it. He’s retired, he wants to live out the rest of his life in peace.”

Toni sighed, crossing her arms over her breasts. “Why should he get to live in peace when we’re in the middle of a fucking war that is still raging on?”

Sighing himself, Steve leaned back against the table, pulling her with him to stand in front of him. “Hey, you’ve got the finest military forces out there. You know the death toll on our side is far less than anyone out there fighting. That’s saying something!”

“Playing to my vanity,” Toni said, smirking up at him. “You’re an evil man, Steve Rogers.”

The adorable smile he gave her was enough to make her forget all about what they were talking about. “Yeah, well...”

Giggling, she lifted her arms to wrap around his neck to give him a hug. “I’ve missed you so much, Steve!” His arms around her, having him there in her arms was all she needed. She was complete.

“I’ve missed you, Toni. So much.”

Swallowing hard, she took a deep breath and pulled back to smile up at him. “Want to go home?”


	5. Together Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Toni takes Steve home. The only home he's ever really had is where she is and will always be.

Walking down the stairs after stepping outside of S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, Steve looked around. He didn’t see a car waiting for her. “Does Happy still drive you everywhere?” He looked down at her to see if she’d direct them toward the car waiting for her, but she simply turned to look up at him.

They’d gotten dressed up in the debriefing room. Steve had marvelled over her suit and listened with captivated fascination as she had told him all about the material she’d used and the intricate threading of the titanium alloy that gave it it’s chainmail like look. Once he’d helped her put the outfit back on, excluding the mask, he’d pulled her into his arms, telling her lowly and gutturally how incredibly sexy she looked in it. She’d laughed and told him to calm himself, there’d be plenty of time for more sexy times back at the Castle.

He’d reluctantly let her go and she’d put her mask back on. He remarked at how a simple mask could change her voice so easily. She’d pulled her hair back to show him the tiny mechanism at her jawbone that pressed against her skin there and explained how it disguised her voice with the metallic sound. He yet again pulled her back into his arms just to tell her how amazing she really was. The tender smile she gave him showed him just how much of an effect he still had on her. Anyone could give her a compliment, true or just to flatter, and she’d milk it, unabashedly agreeing with them, but it was different with Steve. Everything was. He gave her a compliment and she took it graciously. Yes, there had been times where she’d gently play a bit with him, but for the most part, Steve was the only person who could ever give her a compliment and she would take it with the utmost amount of decorum.

Toni pulled him into her arms this time, wrapping them tightly around his waist. “He does, but Happy’s not here.” Steve looked around. He really wouldn’t care about the rumors that would start to fly about him and Iron Maiden, it didn’t matter to him, but he still had to wonder how they were getting back to the Castle. “Hold on tight.”

Steve looked back down at her, his eyes narrowing in on her and then he heard some thrusters ignite and the two of them were lifted off the ground. Not scared, but honestly clueless, he looked around only to see that the boots she was wearing were powering them to fly. Eyes widened now, he looked at her. “You’re seriously...”

She gave him what he could only describe as her wicked smile and nodded. “Like I said, Cap,” she winked, “hold on tight.”

He had barely enough time to let out a quick breath before she was rocketing up into the southern sky. He held onto her tightly. She seemed to have no difficulty maneuvering even the two of them up into the sky and ultimately turning them so they were flying like a bird. He was pretty much laying on top of her as she flew on the side of her back as though she was side stroking in a pool, yet her arms were wrapped around him. Leave it to Toni to figure out a way to fly when her father had explicitly told her he didn’t want her learning how to fly jets. He had to laugh to himself. She never let anyone tell her what to do, even if she had had to obey him at the time. He was gone now and she was ruling the Kingdom, she was in charge of her own life (and the Kingdom as well) and she would do with it whatever she wanted.

Steve loved that most about her. It was how they’d met with the little, independent four-year-old who had wandered off away from her mother to do things on her own. He’d never forget the angel who walked into his hospital room. Now his angel flew, without wings. He was completely breathless at the thought not from the actual flight. He hadn’t felt this breathless since the days when he was beset by his asthma, but this wasn’t a bad breathless at all. He was in awe at her. He always knew she could and would do amazing things, but this was truly beyond his imaginations he’d had as a child. This was fantastic.

They touched down about 15 minutes later in the basement level (or one of the basement levels) of Stark Tower after having flown down a shaft in a dark, quiet corner of the courtyard between the Castle and the Tower, having talked (not having to yell over the wind as they flew) through the comms each of them wore as Avengers. He’d remarked about how beautiful the city was from this viewpoint. Toni had agreed with him. Sure, she got this view when she was taken up in the royal helicopter, but this was completely different. She told him felt so free, even freer than she felt flying jets.

“So you actually learned?” he asked, amazingly proud of her.

“Col. Rhodes taught me,” she told him with a smile, still having not let go of him. Steve didn’t mind in the slightest.

“Colonel now, is he?” Steve asked, smiling brightly. “Impressive.”

“Says the man who made Captain within the first year he was out.” She held up her hands, shaking her head. “I had nothing to do with that by the way!”

Steve laughed, shaking his head. “I believe you.”

He’d never thought she’d had any pull over his advancement in the ranks. Whatever Erskine had done for him, it had pretty much made him a super soldier, a superhuman really. Everything was exponentially easier for him and he breezed past others like they were sitting still as well. (Then Lt.) Col. Rhodes had told him personally how impressed he was with his climb during one of the few times he’d personally met with the man himself.

Steve had known that he and Toni had become friends while she was taking courses at MIT, but he’d never met him back then. He’d still be very sick at the time. Rhodes had told him he was precisely how Toni had described him, but even though she’d told him he was sick, and unable to go too many places, he was still the greatest and most amazing person she ever knew. _“When she said sick, I pictured … something else. From the way she spoke about you, being as amazing and wonderful, you would have thought you weren’t sick at all but more like what I see you as today, this colossus. I somehow how can’t imagine you ever being sick and frail.”_ Steve had  always known how Toni thought of him, it didn’t surprise him that she’d build him up when talking to someone about him. She hadn’t needed to.

“What do you think?” Toni asked, stepping back and waving her hand around what looked like a garage/lab or workspace.

Steve looked around. He’d been in her lab before he’d left, but it hadn’t looked like this. It was bigger. A garage space for a collection of cars, all of them high-end, he could tell that, as if she would have anything else. She had quite a few just in here, but he was sure she had more if she had this many in here. These were probably her favorite, ones she drove herself.

The workspace was pretty much the same as he’d remembered, though more high-techy, if that was even possible. StarkTech always had the latest in technological advancements than anyone. They invented things long before anyone else even had the idea for them. Steve knew how much Toni loved working with her gadgets and inventions and experiments.

She’d brought him down to her lab more than a few times and he loved how lost she got in what she was doing. He’d brought down a sketch pad with him most of the time. He’d draw anything from things in his head to things there in the lab, but most often, he found himself drawing her. She had always been his favorite thing to draw. Even when they were young, he’d draw her when he’d not been with her or even when he had been and she’d not known he was just sitting watching her to do so.

His drawings of her were probably his favorite. He didn’t have many now, save for the ones he’d made since Montoya and his men took him and his men from the Islamists. It was how the conversation between the two of them about his girl back home had gotten started. Montoya hadn’t even asked the girl’s name. He didn’t pry. He simply listened to what Steve had told him about the girl he couldn’t wait to get back to.

Steve had been drawing in the Captain’s quarters looking out over the sea as they bounded over the waves. He’d asked him how he could draw with the water as rough as it was. Steve hadn’t even noticed. He had been wrapped up in thoughts of Toni as he always was. Montoya (or Roberts, as Steve had known him at the time) had stood over his shoulder, staring down at the picture for a long time before he’d said anything and pulled Steve from his reverie.

“She’s beautiful.” Steve had practically jumped out of the captain’s chair. Roberts laughed, shaking his head. “Relax. I’m not going to make you walk the plank because you’re sitting in my chair. Quién es la bella dama?” He gave a short wolf whistle. “Muy caliente.”

He’d only been able to pick up a few Spanish words here and there from Roberts and the men on the ship. They spoke all sorts of languages, some mixed, rarely any English, the only language steve really knew, but he’d picked up a few words here and there from the pirates said. “My girl back home.”

Roberts leaned against the window, crossing his arms over his chest and looking down at Steve. “You miss her.” It wasn’t a question. Of course Roberts knew he missed her. Who wouldn’t miss their love.

“She’s my world. My angel on earth.” Steve looked down at her. He knew she was several years older now than she was in the picture, it’d been four years since he’d seen her. Being out to sea, they didn’t get television or magazines or newspapers, all he had was his memory of her. It never faded though, but he knew that she had more than likely changed since he’d seen her. He knew he’d changed.

“Ángel, hmmm?” he looked over the picture from his new angle, nodding his head. “Sí, ella es un ángel.” Steve smiled down at the picture of her. “Está casado? You were married?”

Steve shook his head, laughing almost sardonically at the question. “No.” He wouldn’t get into the reasons why beyond the most obvious. “We were young. She was only 15 when I left for Afghanistan.”

“Ah!” Roberts nodded. “Her… padre, he did not approve?”

_Wow,_ Steve thought to himself, _how ironic is it that he’s asking all these dead on questions._ Refraining from laughing this time, he shook his head. “No. Even so, her parents died. We were just young. And then there was the war. And … many things.”

Montoya had accepted that answer. He hadn’t particularly been a prying man. He’d accepted what Steve had given him and never pressed for more. He’d even shared a little of his own life. He told him he’d never really found love until he had little time left with him. His name had been Fezzik, Montoya had recounted. They had come to work together about six years before he had died. Instant friends. Steve had smiled at that, because it had been like him and Toni, instant friends. He also liked how the man said he’d loved Fezzik from the moment he’d met him, another thing that had made Steve smile, because Steve had fallen in love with Toni from the moment he’d met her too.

He watched Toni as she showed him around her lab ending up where she kept her Avenger suit. Turning back to him, she smiled. “Help me get out of my suit?”

He returned her smile and shook his head gently. “As you wish.”

Toni turned her back to him and he found the hidden zipper concealed in the material and pulled it down. Toni pulled it off of her shoulders and Steve softly caressed her back. Toni looked over her shoulder and smiled at him as he pressed a soft kiss to her shoulder.

“I have missed the way you shower me with attention. No one does that.”

He narrowed his eyes in on her, standing up straight. “Kisses you like that?”

She turned to face him, pausing her undressing. “Steve?”

“I guess I have no reason to be jealous…” He sighed, shaking his head. “I was dead.”

Stepping closer to him, she let her suit fall at her hips as she reached out to take his face in her hands. “I was with other people, Steve, but not anymore, not now that you’re back. There is only one person for me, and that’s you....”

Her words trailed off and he couldn’t help but ask, “But…?”

She sighed, dropping her hands again. “I’m… Oh, Steve… I don’t know how to, I mean… I’ve agreed to marry Loki Odinson of Asgard.”

Steve felt all the blood drain from his face. He needed to sit down. He knew this day would come. He knew she’d tell him that she was getting married to someone else someday. He hadn’t expected to find out on the day they’d reunited, though he was sure that anytime finding out he would have still felt like this.

“When?” The word came as though it was choked out of his throat.

“We haven’t set a date.” Her voice came so quietly from her tiny body, he’d barely heard it. “Howard said I needed to marry by the time I was twenty-five, but after the attack on my life, the council urged me to find a consort sooner. He moved into the castle today though.”

Steve found the chair next to the wall there by where Toni kept her suit, leaning his head over to hang it between his knees. His head was spinning and the world was closing in on him. Toni dropped to her knees beside him, still only half dressed in her Iron Maiden suit, placing her hands on his forearms.

“Steve,” she spoke, sorrow wrapped around her words, “I don’t love him. I have only ever loved you. I will only ever love you. You’re the one person I could have ever given my heart to, and I did, years ago. I can’t give it to him. I wouldn’t.”

It didn’t change anything. The day they both knew would have to come had come and even though he thought he had been prepared for it, he clearly wasn’t. Toni was his in every way that mattered, but she couldn’t be his in every way possible. He knew she could never be his wife, even if he wanted it more than anything and had still held out hope that she could be, the realization that it wasn’t going to happen still hurt. Another would have her as his wife and it sickened him. He wanted everything with her, even though he knew it could never happen.

“I love you, Steve. You. Only you. I’m so sorry!” She pressed her lips to the top of his head, wrapping her arms around his shoulders.

His head came to rest just above her ARC reactor. Closing his eyes, he let his arms wrap around her. Tears burned behind his eyelids, but they didn’t fall. He simply held her close. He didn’t want to hate this other man. Toni was Steve’s, even if she could never be his, not completely.

“I hate this,” he spoke, his heart breaking even though he was trying to keep it together with all his might. It wasn’t enough though. He broke, tears falling onto her chest as he held her.

He could feel her silent sobs causing her entire body to tremble as she kissed the top of his head. “I’m so sorry, Steve,” she silently sobbed against his hair.

Pulling back, Steve shook his head. “Don’t be sorry,” he pleaded with her. “I knew this was going to happen someday. I knew it, but I hoped it wouldn’t.”

“I can find a way around it,” she told him, vowing something she’d vowed a hundred times before. “I didn’t care. Without you here, I didn’t care, so I agreed to the council’s urging. I don’t want to marry Loki. Just you. It’s always just been you. I’ll find a way, I promise, Steve. I’ll find a way.”

Steve leaned in, pressing his lips to hers, kissing away both of their tears. He had believed her when she’d said it before and he believed her now. He loved her, he would always love her no matter what. He would be with her in any way he could. He wouldn’t ever stop loving her or wanting to be with her. She was his life, the angel who’d walked into his life and made it better, ultimately curing him of every affliction he’d ever had and captivating his heart forever. She owned his heart and he loved that she did. He wouldn’t do anything to lose that.

“Let’s go to my room, Steve,” she spoke softly against his lips before slowly pulling back. “Let’s not think about anything else. Not Loki. Not Howard. Not the council. Not even The Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. Let’s just be us for the night and shut out everyone else. I don’t want to think about anyone or anything but you and having you back. Nothing matters but us.”

Steve nodded his head, lifting his fingers to run gently through her hair. “Nothing matters but us, just like it was before.” Before, it had been them and Bucky. He knew the two of them never saw eye to eye, not completely, but Bucky always respected the Princess. Toni liked getting her own way, especially when Bucky wanted to do something different, but she relented more often than not when Steve asked her too. He knew they cared about each other more than they’d let on, more like brother and sister than his best friends. He saw it, even if they didn’t.

Toni stood, pulling her suit off of her body, putting it away in it’s compartment before pulling out a pair of jeans and a tank top. She dressed and reached out to him. “We’re going to need to get you something else to wear. Wanna strip down to your skivvies?” she asked him with a smirk.

Steve shook his head, laughing slightly as he took her hand to stand. “Excuse me?”

“The Captain of the Avengers can’t be walking around Stark Industries, Steve, but practically naked you can.” She winked. “At least until we can get you something else to wear across the courtyard.”

“I think you just want to get me naked,” he countered.

Snickering, she shrugged her shoulders. “Guilty.” Her laughing stopped and she just gave him a wide grin. “Now strip, baby.”

Steve shook his head and pulled at the at the release behind his neck before pulling the shirt off and handing it to her. He did the same thing with his pants, putting his boots with hers. “So, you’ve got me naked, now what do you want to do with me?”

Toni moaned softly and Steve wasn’t altogether sure if it was on purpose to get a rise out of him or because she actually couldn’t help herself. “Such a leading question, Cap,” she said, folding his suit up and putting it where she’d pulled out her jeans and tank top from before turning back to him. “We can go get you a labcoat out of R&D so we can walk across the courtyard. That is, unless you’d like to do some streaking with me. I can strip too.”

Steve knew he was blushing and couldn’t help it. The heat was in his cheeks and all he could do was shake his head. “Let’s just go get that lab coat.”

Toni laughed, taking his hand. “I’m going to have to find a way to loosen you up, Cap.”

Steve followed Toni out of her lab and up to Research and Development to get the lab coat she had promised. He had stayed close to her, looking around for the cameras all the way up there while she had laughed at him and playfully pulled away from him every once in a while. “Come on!” she’d playfully chided him, “I want to watch these videos later. I can’t tell you how much I love you walking around my company in only your boxer briefs.” He’d told her she was evil more than once, but she’d just laughed (evilly) at him. He was glad it was the middle of the night and they hadn’t even seen single a security guard.

They took the main exit out the Tower and as soon as they were in the courtyard they were met by a royal guard team. “Your Highness!” Steve noticed their eyes, all of them trained on him even if addressing Toni. “Are you alright?”

Toni pulled Steve closer to her. “Stand down, all of you! This is Captain Steve Rogers of my military! You will salute him!”

Steve didn’t need that. It had been a long time since he’d been Captain in Her military, but he had retained the title at S.H.I.E.L.D. and that was one of her special task forces, so he figured it wasn’t any different. The entire team that had flocked to them stood at quick attention, saluting them. He gave them a slight nod.

“Now, as you were!”

The team bowed in unison and the leader nodded to the rest of them and they disbanded. Steve was dumbfounded by Toni’s display of power. The King and Queen had died not long after Toni had turned thirteen. He’d only seen her be the ruler for a very short time before he had left to fight in the war for her. Back then, he’d never seen her be so completely sure about ruling. She had known it was her responsibility, her rite, but she’d never really cared much beyond telling them to do things just because she could, and because she liked getting her own way. It was completely different now. He could tell she knew exactly what she was doing and he was completely mesmerized by it.

Toni looked at him only briefly as if to apologize, he thought, before continuing into the Castle. The guard there at the front door, bowed to her before opening the doors for her. The whole way to her room (or what turned out to be her new room) he couldn’t help but notice the royal presence she now commanded. He knew he didn’t need to be proud of her, but he couldn’t help but be. He realized that her room had been completely redesigned, remodeled and added onto. There were hints, traces of the younger girl he’d known, but this room was definitely not that of a girl any longer. This room belonged to a woman. This room belonged to a queen.

The guards outside her door closed her door after they’d walked into the suite finally leaving them alone. She turned to face him, stepping up close to him and smiling warmly. It was so odd how quickly she went from being the girl he knew to being the ruler of a kingdom in a matter of seconds. He was beyond impressed and he knew even more than he had when she was younger that she would be a great queen. He could see it now in only the brief amount of time from the Tower here to her room. It was inspiring.

“Would you like to get out of this stuffy labcoat now?”

He nodded his head gently to her and smiled as she seemingly innocently started to unbutton it. There was nothing innocent about this vision in front of him. She was in every way the Queen he knew she could be, even if she didn’t have that title yet. She was only the Princess, but she wasn’t only anything. She was so much. If the council, if the Kingdom couldn’t couldn’t see how amazing of an autocrat she truly was then they were as big of fools as Toni’s father had been and they had no business advising her.

Letting the coat fall to the ground, she pulled him from the seating area of her suite toward the sleeping chamber. “Get comfortable,” she told him, giving him a smile before disappearing into what he could tell was her closet because she hadn’t shut the door when she’d escaped into it.

Steve smiled and took a deep breath. He was so happy that things were back to normal like they had been before he left even if they were completely different. They still felt the same together. He knew it would never change yet it was still calming to find out that it was in fact true and not just something he’d hoped for. He walked over to the bed and pulled the decoration pillows off of the bed and placing them on the upholstered bench at the foot of the bed. She did like her pillows, he thought with a bright smile. The smile grew when he saw that it continued under the covers too just as it had when she was younger. One long body pillow rested against the headrest to which two large Euro pillows laid at an angle halfway down it and two king-sized pillows rested in front of them.

He hadn’t been all that used to comfort throughout his lifetime, save for when he’d been with her, but the last six years with the pirates hadn’t been that bad, at least not until Roberts had gave him a purpose beyond the deckhand that he’d become after they’d first picked him up. He’d slept on burlap sacks stuffed with God only knew to make it remotely comfortable. Prior to that, he’d been content to sleep on the ground with a rock as his pillow. He had been lucky to have a place to sleep at all.

Things would be different now though. Since he’d gotten back, he’d had a room in the S.H.I.E.L.D. camp that was more than sufficient enough; he’d had his ship to go back to, but now he was home, with Toni, and he knew she’d always want him there with her just as he didn’t want to be away from her. He didn’t need all the comforts that came with the life she had. All he needed was her. She was his life and his heart, she was his angel and he wanted to be right there with her forever.

He slid into the bed and rested back against the (too soft) pillows and relaxed to wait for her. He honestly would never complain about all of this. He’d grown up poor. There was no destitute in Marveland thanks to Queen Maria, but Steve had by no means come from a comfortable upbringing. It hadn’t mattered though. He had love and that’s what had truly mattered. He’d never known his father, he’d died in the service of the King in the Gulf War, but his mother had made sure Steve knew that he had loved him.

Steve wanted a family. He wanted to live that proverbial happily ever after life with Toni and a little boy or girl or both. He knew what that meant though. He had seen Toni grow up. He’d seen castle life. It was too much wealth and privilege, but none of that mattered because he loved Toni and that would be all that mattered, that had always been what mattered. He’d missed the first four years of her life and the last seven, but she had turned out to be a far better person than her father ever was. She’d turned out to be a lot like her mother, someone Steve had always admired and revered far more than the King. He knew that if he and Toni could have children together, they would get the better parts of both of them. He had nothing to worry about except the one thing that would prevent it all from happening.

Yes, he had faith in her. He knew that she would find a way for the two of them to be together, but he knew it wasn’t going to be easy. He knew that it was going to stress Toni out, but somehow, he knew she could handle it. He’d seen her go head to head with Fury and not back down (even if it’d just been for one brief moment before she’d seen him), he’d seen her immediately morph into command mode and make the royal guard stand at attention in a split second outside in the courtyard. He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt, even if it was going to be difficult, she would rise above it and in the end the two of them would be together. He believed in her. He believed in them.

He looked up when Toni came out of the closet and smiled at her. Red was her color, he’d always known that, but seeing her in her Iron Maiden suit and now seeing her standing in front of him in silky red pajama shorts and camisole, yeah, he knew it. The blue glow of the vibranium showed through the dainty material almost as though it wasn’t covering it at all. She came over and slid into bed with him and wrapped her arms around him, laying her head gently on his chest. Steve readily wrapped his arms around her and closed his eyes. He was home. The Castle may not be his home, not really, but Toni was. Anywhere she was, that’s where his home was.

Pressing his lips to the top of her head, he inhaled her deep into his senses. She was his life. She filled him with life. It was because of her that he was alive, he knew that. From the moment she’d walked into his hospital room, she’d given him far more than any medicine ever could. She sustained him. He’d never been as sick as he was then and before than any time after he’d met her. He loved her from that moment, before he ever knew she was the Princess, and he would thank God that he sent him into his life, he would never not be thankful for her.

“You’d better be real,” she warned him against his chest.

He smiled and let his hand softly caress her back. “I assure you, I’m real. And so are you.”

She lifted her head to look up at him. “Better be, because I can’t wake from this dream and have you not be real, have this not be real. I just can’t.”

Lifting his hand, he gently smiled at her, caressing her cheek. “You won’t have to.”

Shifting, she moved to straddle his lap, sitting there in front of him, her hands coming to rest on his face. Shaking her head, she simply stared at him. He couldn’t even read her face or her eyes. It was almost as though she was relearning him, just taking him into her. He didn’t say anything and neither did she for a indeterminate span of time. No words were needed. He understood her need to just look at him. He wanted to do the same back at headquarters, but post coital on the debriefing table wasn’t exactly the time for that.

Now the two of them could just take their time and do nothing but gaze at each other endlessly. They had all the time in the world to do so. Neither of them were going anywhere ever again. She wouldn’t let him, and she wasn’t going anywhere herself, he knew she wasn’t. They were together again and nothing and no one would keep them apart.

Steve wasn’t sure how long either of them had sat there before Toni leaned in and pressed her lips to his. He smiled into the kiss softly and lifted his hand to slide it through the hair at the back of her head, pulling her more to him. She deepened the kiss without hesitation and his other hand slid up over her bare thigh, his fingers slipping under the silky material of her pajama shorts. She moved against him and he was growing hard in anticipation beneath her. They’d just made love, no more than an hour ago, but there was no way he would deny either of them this again. He would make love to her at any available moment he could. The intense closeness he felt when they made love was so incredible, he would never deny them that.

Her mouth broke free from his and she slowly started spreading kisses down over his neck and to his bare chest. Licking his lips, he swallowed as he watched her tongue dart out of her mouth and slowly lick around his nipple. His breath got caught in his throat and he gripped a bit at her curls around his fingers. He could see her smile against his pec and loved that whatever he’d done because of her actions had made her happy.

Her mouth slid wetly, spreading kisses across his chest to the already perked up other nipple. He couldn’t help but groan as her teeth lightly grazed over it. His breathing was coming out in quick, shallow spurts. She was turning him on so much and he had an inkling that she knew exactly what she was doing.

Her mouth’s quest didn’t stop at his pectorals, but instead, she licked a long wet path down to his navel. The wetness made his skin hot briefly but then instantly cooled, causing gooseflesh to erupt all over his skin. “Toni!” he gasped out and she pulled back, smiling up at him as she slipped her tiny hands under the band of his boxer briefs at his hips. Gripping it, she kept her eyes honed in on his as she tugged at them. He lifted his hips to help her get them off.

Tossing them aside, she licked her lips and Steve’s eyes about popped out of his head. The look in her eyes was almost feral. He remembered she’d looked like a lioness on the prowl as she stalked Fury, and he could see that same feline-esque look in her eyes. He knew what she was about to do and his cock was aching for her to do it. She’d done this a few times before he’d left and it had always driven him wild. Though somehow, the look in her eyes told him that he had no idea what to expect. He’d never seen that darkness, the feral heat of desire, in her eyes. It was indescribable.

He’d stopped breathing, he’d realized, when she lowered her head and her mouth took him deep with a hard, wet suck causing him to choke on the air stuck in his throat. His hand tightened in her hair and he groaned. He was right. This was more incredible than anything he remembered. Her mouth was pure sin, he was sure of it. It had been incredible the few times she’d done this before, but this about blew him away, feeling like he was going to cum more easily than a 13-year-old teenager. He’d never felt anything like it.

He couldn’t take it. It was too much. He gripped her shoulders. “Toni! Fuck, stop, please! Oh, fuck!”

Opening her eyes, she looked up at him, that same dark, impassioned look in her eyes. She hummed a bit and he felt his balls tighten, causing him to grip her shoulders even more, pulling her up. He couldn’t handle it anymore.

“Toni!” he grunted and felt his cock practically spasm up back toward her mouth at the loss of her heat around him. Swallowing hard, he realized he wanted to taste her. Smirking up at her, he wrapped his arm around her only to lay her down with her head at the foot of the bed with him coming down on top of her. Gripping her wrists in his hands, he pinned them above her head, bringing his lips down to hers and his body to hers, he pressed her into the bed. He wanted her to feel what she’d done to him, grinding himself against her core, but only for a moment.

Interrupting the kiss, he repeated her motions from a few minutes earlier. His kisses were wet, licking more than anything, his mouth moving down along the curve of her neck. His hands slid down her arms to her sides to grasp her camisole in his hands so he could pull it up and off of her. He watched her as he lowered his head down to her breast, taking the nipple in between his teeth and lightly nippling at it. His fingers gently caressed the curve of her soft, warm breast beside the curve of the hard, cooler metal casing of her ARC reactor. The metal was warmed by the heat of her flesh, but it was still a stark difference between the two.

Toni arched up against him, moaning loudly. He loved the sounds she made. They weren’t all too unlike the sounds he’d remembered her making from making love to her more than seven years ago, but they were so much more ardent than they had been back then. They spurred him on immensely. His mouth left a wet path down her lissome body. He loved the way she moved beneath him. There was nothing like it in the entire world, there was no one like her in this entire world.

Letting his hands slide down over her hips, he gripped at the soft material of her pajama shorts to pull them off of her svelte legs. Dropping the shorts with the camisole (he guessed she must have taken her panties off in the closet since she didn’t have any on anymore), he slid his hands back over her thighs, spreading her legs more to him so he could lower himself between them, his head directed straight for her core.

She lifted her hips to him and he smirked, pressing them back down to the bed. "Steeeeve!" she moaned out and he smirked again.

"I've got you, Toni," he spoke heatedly at her core. "I've got you." At that, he let his tongue escape his mouth to slide between her wet lips, coming to the tightened bud of nerves of her clit.

She made the most beautiful and enticing noises that he'd ever heard in his life. He remembered the sounds she had made back at S.H.I.E.L.D. He remembered the sounds she used to make before — he was even cursed by the memories of the sounds made by the pirates and all their conquests over the years — but none were like the noises she was making now. They were unlike anything he'd ever heard and turning him on even more than her mouth on him.

"Now, Steve, now!" she pleaded with him, but he didn't move. He knew that he could get get her to cum just like this and then he could move to be inside her. He knew how good it was going to be and that was exactly what he was planning. That's exactly what he would do.

She gripped at his hair and pulled him more into her, moving herself against him as his tongue and lips and even his teeth a bit helped her come closer and closer to her release. He felt her movements start to hitch here and there and he knew she was getting there fast. He moved his hands from where he was holding her hip and slipped two fingers inside her, rubbing against her tightening walls, thrusting them in and out how he would with his cock.

"Steve! Fuck! Fuck!"

She was practically begging him for her release and it was driving him crazy. He wanted to be inside her, but he wanted her to climax like this first. He wanted to feel her release around his fingers and against his mouth. It didn't take much more before he felt her core start to pulsate around his fingers and her clit throb against his mouth. He moaned a bit, hoping to help intensify and draw out her pleasure.

"Steve..." she pleaded with him breathlessly.

He pulled back and moved up to her, pressing his lips to hers and kissing her deeply, pulling her legs up and around him and sliding into her without sparing a moment. He took her moans into his mouth happily, adding his own at finally being inside her again.

"Toni!" he gasped against her lips, breathing in before kissing her deeper.

He started to move within her. She felt so good around him, her walls so tight, pulling him deeper and deeper into her. Her legs tightened around him and he gave her all he had from her silent request. He would give her the world, even if she could have anything she wants without lifting a finger, there still wasn’t anything Steve wouldn’t give her if he could. He loved her. He’d spent far too long away from her. Never again. He was never leaving her ever again.

“Fuck, Steve! Oh, fuck! Don’t stop!”

Her words urged him on, making him want to give her all she asked of him and more. He would. Dear God, he would. He was close, but he could feel her walls seizing his cock and pulling it deeper into her. She was close, just as he was. It didn’t take much for her to release again before she pulled his release from him, filling her with all he had to give. He continued to move until he was completely spent within her, drawing out each of their releases as much as he could.

She kept her arms and legs wrapped around him. “Don’t move.”

“Never,” he exhaled slowly, resting on her, but not completely.

He weighed more than a hundred pounds more than she did. He would crush her if he laid his complete weight on her. He was sure she wanted it, just to feel him, like she’d said back at headquarters, but that was too much weight to really put on her, more than he was willing. He’d give her all he could though without squashing her. He would never hurt her. He could never hurt her. He’d been gone for seven years, filling her life with nothing but pain. He would never do anything to hurt her ever again. Anything.

Cradling her head he let his fingers run through the dark locks there. “I’ve missed you,” he said softly, closing the distance between the two of their faces and kissing her gently. Murmuring against her lips and into the kiss, he told her, “I love you. Forever, I love you.” He always had and he knew he always would.

“I love you,” Toni repeated against his lips, pulling him more into her.

Pulling back to look at her, he continued to let his fingers run through the dark locks of her hair. “I can’t believe how much you’ve changed,” he said, shaking his head slightly, “but how much you haven’t changed at all.”

“I’m still me, Steve. I haven’t changed.”

“Not in any terrible way, no you haven’t,” he said, pulling slowly from her and laying down beside her, turning her to face him as their legs intertwined, “but life has shaped you into the most amazing, breathtaking woman I’ve ever known.” Smiling a little deviously at her, he shook his head. “And I’m not just talking about in what we just did.” His hand slowly skimmed over her hip. “I’m talking about S.H.I.EL.D. and The Avengers. I’m talking about the way you command your guard. All of it. You’re so magnanimous. You don’t need the council backing you. I can see that you’re more than ready to be Queen without all the provisos your damned father put on you.”

Toni smiled brightly. “I love how you’re the only one who dares speak of him like that!” She laughed and Steve shook his head. “If you’re the only one who sees that, even if it’s enough for me, it’s not enough to convince the council, as much as I would love for it to be.”

Steve sighed, nodding and kissing her forehead softly. “I know, but you don’t just have me. Fury knows it too.” He’d derived so much from the man in the few short months he’d been working under him at S.H.I.E.L.D. He could tell how much the man respected and revered his future Queen, and he was pretty sure the man hadn’t just been saying that because he’d known about the two of them and their relationship.

“Two people’s word isn’t going to be enough to convince the council, Steve. You have to know that.” Steve nodded, frowning slightly causing Toni to quickly add, “But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to try! Just like getting them to throw out Howard’s word on who I marry! I will do it! Steve! I love you! I love you! You and only you! You know I will do it and you know I will fight to be the Queen my country needs. I can’t tell you what it means to me to know that you have faith in me. It’s all I need, really. You’re all I ever need.”

Smiling, Steve leaned in, pressing his lips to hers. “I know you will,” he whispered there, pulling her more against him. “I know you will be the best sovereign that Marveland has ever seen.”

Toni smiled and curled into his chest. Inhaling deeply, Steve wrapped his arms around her more firmly, pulling her even more to him. He loved that he got to see both sides of her. He loved that she was not only the ruler that Marveland needed and deserved, but also the girl he’d grown up with and fell in love with. She was the same person, inside and out and one made the other more and more amazing. He knew how incredible she was and the rest of Her Kingdom needed to know it as well. They’d see it sooner rather than later, he was sure of that.

Steve pulled the two of them up to the head of the bed once more and pulled the covers over the top of them. She curled into him and he wrapped his arms more around her. Kissing the top of her head, he felt her relax more against him. It wouldn’t be long until she was falling asleep there in his arms. She was where both of them wanted her to be. He was where they wanted him to be. They were together and nothing would ever part them. He swore it. Nothing would ever keep them apart ever again, and he was going to make sure of it. He knew there wasn’t anything she wouldn’t do to keep the two of them together either. They were finally at the precipice of happily ever after. Nothing would keep them from it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recovering from surgery so the next chapter may take a tad longer to get out. Don't worry, this story WILL be continued AND completed!


	6. Keeping Steve Safe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Toni creates a new title so she can spend more time with Steve.

Toni awoke to an empty bed, but she could tell she wasn’t alone. She could hear breaths coming from the side of the bed and as she turned toward the noises, she smiled when she saw Steve’s head and torso tapering down to his ass and legs moving up and down as he counted his pushups off silently. Her mouth went dry. That had to be the single hottest thing she’d ever seen in her entire life. Not saying a word, she simply turned over to her stomach and rested her chin on her hands, palms down, watching him silently.

When she and Steve first became friends, he was a very tiny little boy. He had been smaller than she was. Taller. He’d always been taller than her, but he’d always been so tiny. She remembered when she walked into his hospital room the day they’d met. From that moment on, she’d wanted to protect him. Even when he wasn’t so tiny anymore ater Dr. Erskine made him better, Toni still wanted to protect him, even if he wasn’t the tiny little boy she’d met all those years ago.

When he’d told her he wanted to go fight her father’s war in Her name, she hated the idea. She could have and should have denied him from doing it, not only then but when he’d enlisted. She should have never let him go, but they were equals. They always had been. Even if all she wanted to do was protect him, she couldn’t keep him from doing something just by exerting who she was over him. She could protect him in other ways. She would protect him in any way she could. There wasn’t anything she wouldn’t do for him. He was her world and he had been from the moment they’d met eighteen years ago.

Steve looked up to see her watching him and she gave him a bright smile. “Good morning, Cap!”

He smiled, giving her a wink as he continued his pushups. “Good morning, beautiful.”

Toni felt herself turn to mush with his simple words. Lots of people could compliment her, lots of people did, but he could make her feel like the most important person in the world just from a look. He always had made her feel better than anyone ever had without even trying. He made her happy. He loved her more than anything and she loved him even more than anyone had loved anyone ever, she was sure of it.

“How long do you think you can do that?” she asked, her legs swaying back and forth together behind her as she watched him. “Because I could watch you do this all day.”

He chuckled a little, shaking his head, before finishing up a few more and kneeling up to walk over to her on his knees. “I could do a couple thousand more, if that’s what you want.”

She shook her head, making a noise to indicate she was pretending to think. “I think I’d like something else,” she told him with a smirk while licking her lips and letting her eyebrow arch over her eye. She tapped her wettened lips with her finger and waited to see if he’d catch on. He would. He was smart. He could figure out exactly what she wanted.

Returning her smile, though not nearly as deviously, he pressed his lips to hers and she smiled brightly into the kiss. This had been precisely what she’d wanted, and she’d known he figure out exactly what she wanted easily and quickly enough. She softly sighed and pulled back smiling even brighter.

“That’s definitely a good way to say good morning!”

He pressed his lips back to hers and kissed her a little deeper. After a few moments, the two of them pulled back again, smiling at each other. He lifted his hand and let his fingers run through her hair. She drank in the attention he was giving her. The way he looked at her, the way he touched her, everything, it made her feel more loved than she ever knew was possible. He was too good to her, too good for her, but she would never give him up because of that alone. She would do everything she ever could to make him happy. Everything. Nothing could keep her from making him happy. He was her world just as she knew she was his.

Steve smiled at her and looked down at the glowing light pressed against her chest. “That’s not uncomfortable, laying like that?”

Toni smiled and reached out, running her fingers through his hair. “It only hurts when I lay on it like this for hours, when I wake up and I’ve been asleep on it. I’m ok.” She scooted forward a little bit more and pressed her lips to his. He was the sweetest person in the world, she knew it.

She wasn’t used to this, waking up to someone she’d gone to bed with. Though he wasn’t just anyone. He was the love of her existence. He was the only one she could ever and would ever love. She missed waking up to him. She wished she could stay to enjoy it, but she had things that needed to be done. She was ruler of a nation, she couldn’t just bask in bed with the man she loved just because she wanted to.

“Are you hungry?” she asked, maybe a tad bit reluctantly.

Steve laughed only shortly. “You mean, you don’t just want to spend the day in bed?”

Letting a soft giggle escape her lips, she smiled at him, probably blushing a little bit. Leave it to him to get her blushing like a little girl again. “You know me too well,” she said, letting her thumb drag along his bottom lip, “but I have responsibilities to attend to today.”

His smile didn’t even leave his face. “The future Queen of Marveland doing her duties.”

She shrugged her shoulders, shaking her head. “Someone’s gotta do it.”

“Nah,” he shook his head, “you would have gladly shoved all of it off to the side years ago. I love how you’ve stepped into your rightful place. I’m proud of you. So much so.”

“You’re not upset I’m not able to stay here in bed with you?” she asked, her lip softly pouting out.

It earned her a kiss, so she wasn’t going to feel bad about sulking (as if she ever would). “I’d love to spend the day in bed with you, but I’ll be content to spend my nights with you and watch you rule your country during the day.”

Toni smiled, running her fingers through his hair. “I love you,” she whispered, wrapping her arm around his shoulders and pulling herself from the bed to kneel down on the floor between the bed and him. Wrapping her other arm around him, she pulled him tightly to her. She loved the way he made her feel. She always did. Nothing had changed, these last few years being apart, it was as though it never happened, and she was so glad it hadn’t. He’d been dead, and then she’d walked into S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ last night to ream Fury out for insubordination and ended up back in the arms of the man she could have never laid to rest. He was alive and she was more alive than she thought she would ever be again and it was all because of him.

Suddenly, she pulled back, her eyes gleaming brightly as she looked up at him. “I, uh,” she started reaching between them and wrapping around the object that had popped up, interluding their kiss, “could be persuaded to take a shower before my daily events have to be started. What do you say, Cap?”

“I say…” his voice was low and mischievous, leading her to wonder what he could possibly be thinking.

She wasn’t left to wonder long. Swiftly, his arm wrapped around her and he was lifting them both from the ground. Wrapping her legs around him, she pulled her naked body tightly to his torso. He must have found the bathroom before he started his morning routine because he went directly to it. She loved how sure of himself he was. She was used to false bravado with everyone, but no one ever had been so sanguine and so relaxed around her as he was. She knew he was made for her, beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Her back came up hard against the wall and she let out a soft grunt. “Steve!” her voice was breathless, heady with anticipation and lusty desire.

The darkness of his eyes matched that that she’d seen last night. She never knew that he could be so ardent and passionate in his love making. Then again, it had been seven years since they’d touched each other. They were both seven years older. Their desires and passions were heightened and they each knew better what they wanted and how to get it. There wasn’t anything that Steve would ever want that Toni would deny him. Never. She would give him anything he ever wanted, both in and out of the bedroom.

“I love you,” his voice came as a hot breath against her ear and she felt a shudder of pleasure travel down her spine and to her pussy, causing it to tighten in expectation.

They’d made love a few times since she saw that he was alive and she knew exactly what he was going to feel like so deep inside her. She’d never forgotten the way he’d filled her before he left, no one ever filled her the way he did then, but he filled her so much more completely now. He had always filled her soul and when they made love, he filled her more completely than anyone ever could. She’d been so empty when she thought he was dead, but she felt so filled, so completely filled now that he was alive. She was never going to give that up ever again.

“I love you!” she gasped out, pushing her naked body against his bare chest, showing him just how much she needed him.

She felt him pull her from the wall and walked over to the shower, still holding her easily around his waist. He was so strong. She was a rather tiny girl, she knew that, but the way he picked her up, the way he held her, it was as if it didn’t take any more than picking up a pencil for him. Toni let her hands slide down over his massive shoulders and triceps, gripping at him, pulling him more to her.

“Make love to me,” she whispered against his ear as they stepped into the shower.

The shower water turned on because of the motion sensor shower Toni had designed and installed a year or so ago, but neither of them really noticed. They were both too wrapped up in each other to really think or care about anything other than the two of them. Her back came up against the marble of the shower wall and she moaned loudly.

“Oh! Steve! Make love to me, baby. Make love to me.”

Steve kicked out of his now dampened boxer briefs and took himself in his hand to angle it up so he could slide into her. She shifted down his torso a bit and pulled back just enough so he could slide deep into her. She exhaled and inaudibly screamed out how good it felt for him to be inside her. It was perfect. He was perfect. He pulled her down completely onto him and she opened her eyes, laying her head against the shower wall to look at him.

“Steve!” she gasped out, pushing herself more against him.

She felt a shock of pleasure reverberate in her clit. She felt as though every inch of skin he touched sent a shock straight there and emanated all through her body. There was nothing like this, nothing in the world. Nothing would ever be better than this and she knew it. He didn’t take any time before moving in her, deep and fully. It wasn’t hard or rough, but with every movement deep into her, she could feel everything. She was already floating on a cloud of bliss. She never wanted this to stop. She never did.

Steve brought his lips to hers, kissing her deeply and she drank him up. Her fingers slid up from his arms and into his hair at the back of his head, pulling him deeper and deeper into the kiss. She didn’t know how anything could feel as good as this, but she knew the only thing that had ever made her feel anywhere near this good had been Steve himself. Since they were reunited last night, everything she even remembered about being with him had changed, but it was the same at the same time too. It was the same feeling inside. It was love, she knew it, and she couldn’t explain how she felt to have him back.

Usually, Toni kept her eyes closed during sex. Usually, not caring to see the person who she was with. She hadn’t last night though. She wouldn’t ever again. She was so afraid that if she closed her eyes, Steve would disappear and she knew she couldn’t handle that. She couldn’t deal with this being a dream. She couldn’t deal with him being back just being a dream. She had to make sure that he was real. Even if she could feel him (and fuck, she could really feel him and he felt so incredible), she still needed to see him. She needed to see that he was there. So many times she’d dream they were together, they were happy and then she’d wake up and it’d just be a fucking dream. She wasn’t going to close her eyes.

“More!” she pleaded with him. “Please, Steve! Please gimme more! Oh, Please!” She moaned out, pushing herself down against him. “Harder, please! I can take it! I can take it!”

He sped up, pushing deeper and deeper into her, just a little harder with each thrust. She held onto him, fighting to keep her eyes open. The pleasure was too much for her. No, it wasn’t too much, it was perfect. She wanted more. She needed more. She never wanted it to end. She never wanted to not be connected to him. She knew they couldn’t always be with each other like this, but that didn’t mean she didn’t want to be.

Both of their releases came too fast. She moved with him through the waves, not wanting it to end, wanting to give both of them more and more pleasure. This was better than any drink, better than any drug. It was so much better than anything she’d ever had or done before. This was Steve and he was her everything.

Toni was a bit behind in her schedule for the day, but she didn’t mind. She would make up for it. She had never and would never make excuses for spending time with Steve. The two of them walked with each other down to the breakfast nook off the side of the kitchen beside the morning veranda, arms wrapped around each other, her head rested against his chest. Entering the breakfast nook, they were met by a solitary occupant at the table.

“Loki…” She felt Steve tense in her embrace.

“Princess,” Loki greeted her, looking up from his food and instantly standing.

“Please,” she said, shaking her head and holding up her hand, “just sit. Enjoy your meal.” She’d told him to call her Toni last night, but she figured seeing the man in her arms may have changed that for him. She’d still prefer him call her by her name, but she wasn’t about to correct him. Looking up at Steve, she smiled. “Steve, this is Prince Loki Odinson of Asgard.” Turning back to Loki who hadn’t sat back down but was stepping forward instead, she continued the introductions. “Loki, this is Captain Steve Rogers of the Marveland special ops forces.”

“Captain, is it?” Loki queried as Steve nodded with a bow to him.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Toni didn’t like seeing Steve bow to people. He was her equal and she felt as though it demeaned him and she wouldn’t have it. “Why don’t we sit, we all need to talk.” She wasn’t looking forward to this. She found out yesterday about how Loki had always felt slighted by his lot in life, and now she was yet again going to be telling him he wouldn’t be getting something that should have been given to him rightfully as anything else a prince should have. She felt bad, and she rarely felt bad.

Loki took a step back, letting Toni sit first. Steve stepped out ahead of her and pulled her seat out for her. Smiling at him, she sat at the table and nodded for them both to sit as well. Immediately, both Toni and Steve were bought a plate of food. Toni had sent word to Pepper last night that Steve was alive and back and that she would talk to her later today while she’d changed for bed last night after getting home. Just as predicted, she had alerted the staff to his presence and his breakfast was prepared with hers. She’d also brought, or had Jarvis bring clothes in for Steve at some time during the night or while they’d been in the shower, Toni wasn’t sure, and he was dressed in a comfortable pair of slacks and a blue and white striped dress shirt. Toni always knew she could rely on Pepper, that was never a question.

The kitchen staff left them alone again and Toni gave Steve a smile. He seemed calm, but she could tell he wasn’t prepared for this conversation. Honestly, Toni hadn’t expected it right at the moment either, but Loki was there and Toni didn't want to put it off.

“You wouldn’t be aware of this,” Toni started, reaching for the pepper in front of her to sprinkle on her eggs, “there’s no reason why you should have been, but Steve and I,” she smiled over at Steve even if she was addressing Loki as she put the shaker down, “we’re in love and we have been for several years.”

Toni pulled her gaze from Steve’s to look at Loki as he intoned his reply with a simple, “Oh…”

“He left to fight the war in Afghanistan seven years ago and a year later he was taken prisoner,” Toni continued to tell him the story, though she was leaving out certain details. The complete story of what had happened to him while he was gone would not be public knowledge, and even though Loki was far from a civilian, she still did not wish to tell him everything. “He just returned home to us last night. He had been reported as Killed in Action, but as you can see, he’s very much alive and, as I said,” she looked back to Steve, smiling brightly at him again, “back.” He returned her smile and reached out to take her hand, and she paused a moment before looking back to Loki.

“What are you saying, Princess? What does the good captain’s return have to do with me?”

Toni sighed, shaking her head and not letting go of Steve’s hand. “Regrettably, considering … well, considering I am actually sorry,” because she never felt the need to apologize to anyone, but he did deserve it, “I’m not going to be following through with our agreed union.”

“I do not understand,” Loki said, visibly upset but remaining calm. The only indication that her words had affected him was his tightened grasp on his fork and his knuckles turning slightly white. “You need our wedding in order to be coronated as Queen of your realm. I do not see how rescinding our agreement will be fortuitous to you in any way.”

“I am monarch of my realm,” Toni affirmed sternly, “I do not need to marry any dignitary to retain my right to my own throne.”

“You’re making a grave mistake, Princess,” he said, standing, his silverware falling with a loud clanking noise to the plate. “Grave!”

Without another word, he pushed himself harshly away from the table, causing the chair he’d been sitting in to fall to the ground with a loud crash. He left the room and Toni looked to Steve who was still holding her hand, squeezing it tightly as a servant came in quickly to pick up the chair Loki had so insolently tossed aside and to clean after him. She had hoped it would go better than that, but she should have known that it wouldn’t. Never has any man in her life prove to be anything other than what Loki had presented in that moment to her, except for Steve that is. No man had ever been caring and gentle as Steve was. Sure, she didn’t need nor did she want to be coddled, but why she should expect any man beyond Steve to show any amount of understanding was beyond her.

“It’s ok,” Steve told her, speaking softly. He was trying to soothe her, even if he didn’t need to. She loved him all the more for it.

“I’m alright,” she said, exhaling slowly and smiling brightly at him. “I don’t know why I expected that he’d be understanding about this.”

“It doesn’t matter. He doesn’t need to be understanding.”

Toni nodded resolutely. “You’re right.” Though it gave her momentary pause that the council, a group made up of nothing but overly entitled men, would be understanding. She had to tell herself that she was the Princess and she could and would be Queen no matter what they said or did. This was important, far more so than adhering to her dead father’s word. “All that matters is us.”

“Exactly,” he smiled, leaning in and pressing his lips to hers gently.

They were interrupted by Pepper who came into the room, clearing her throat and not taking into account what may or may not be transpiring in the room, as if she ever did. Toni knew this must be a different outcome from what she was used to when Toni had someone spend the night, having to deal with having her bedpartners escorted out of the Castle altogether unceremoniously. Steve wasn’t just any bedpartner though, and Pepper knew that. Toni happily mused to herself and wondered if Pepper understood that she would never have to do escort anyone else out of the Castle like that ever again. Steve would never need to be escorted from the Castle or away from Toni for any reason.

“Good morning, Captain. I trust you slept well?”

“Yes…”

Toni couldn’t help but chuckle to herself. “You’ll have to forgive Pepper, she’s not used to having morning guests,” at least that was allowed to stay around, Toni continued in her head, knowing it wasn’t needed to be said out loud. “Pepper is my personal assistant and most trusted confidante. She knows everything about me and still likes me.”

“Well,” Pepper quipped, shaking her head, “like may be a bit strong of a term.” Toni couldn’t help but laugh and loved that Steve was able to laugh about that as well. If anyone, he knew better than anyone else how difficult she was to deal with. "Put up with is more like it."

Steve laughed even more. "I guess you would know," he said with a polite nod to her. "You must have a pretty high resolve to work as close to Toni as you do."

"I'm sure you're more aware of how difficult she can be than I do."

"We can swap stories some time."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Toni interjected, waving her hand between the two of them. "I don't believe I like the idea of you two conspiring against me."

"Who said anything about conspiring?" Pepper asked coyly. “We’re simply sharing stories.”

“Right,” Toni said, shaking her head. “There will be nothing simple about it, and you and I both know it.”

“We’ll talk,” Pepper said, nodding subversively, earning a facepalm from Toni. Pepper laughed only briefly before clearing her throat and taking on her usual business manner. “The Asgardian Prince didn’t look all too happy.”

“No, he wasn’t happy at all, Pep, but I doubt we’ll be going to war with Asgard anytime soon though.”

“Toni…” Anything Pepper wanted to say, she must have thought better of, because her words trailed off just at Toni’s name.

“I’ll talk to Thor later,” Toni promised, giving Pepper a smile, which seemed to have the effect Toni had hoped for.

Pepper nodded and pulled out her StarkTouch phone. Business as usual. “You’re already thirty minutes behind schedule for your meeting with Pierce.”

Sighing, Toni shook her head. “I completely forgot about that. Can we push it off?”

“No, Toni, we can’t push it off. He’s had this appointment with you for months. It’s important.”

Toni had been set to meet with him the day she’d been attacked by Hydra. She’d been on her way to Pierce’s downtown office when her car had been sideswiped by an oncoming vehicle. If it hadn’t been for Happy’s quick thinking, she would have been taken by the Hydra operatives who pulled her from the back of the vehicle. They hadn’t taken into account that her driver was also her most trusted and trained bodyguard and willing to do anything to keep her safe. Happy had gotten out of the burning vehicle and fired several rounds into the assailant’s heads (helmets can’t cover everything, especially without a faceguard).

Happy hadn’t been all seeing though. They’d already attached an explosive device to Toni’s dress. He did hear it beeping and was able to get it off of her, but it had exploded after he’d tossed it aside. They should have both been killed, but as it was, they’d only both been injured, her more so than him, but they were alive because of his quick thinking. Toni owed him her life, she knew she did, and she wouldn’t ever forget it.

Toni nodded his head and then looked over at Steve, arching an eyebrow and giving him a slight smirk. “How would you like to have a more… active and not so covert role in my special ops slash secret services divisions?”

Steve’s gaze narrowed in on her. “Do I even want to ask?”

She smiled and nonchalantly shook her head. “It will be great! Captain Rogers,” she said, smiling brightly at him, “I am officially advancing you to head of my National Intelligence Intermediary Relations.”

“And what is that?”

She gave his hand a gentle squeeze. “It’s a new position, I’m instituting forthwith, and appointing you as it’s director. You’ll serve as a mediator between all of my intelligence agencies and therefore free up time for me to do,” she gave him a not so discreet smirk, “other things.” Steve looked over to Pepper who was standing by simply patiently waiting for them to talk this out. “Pepper knows about all of my intelligence agencies and special ops divisions, Steve, and you can trust her. She’s not naive either,” she added, making home look back at her, "she knows full well what the other we’ll be freed up to do too."

Toni considered all of it a win when Steve blushed. “Alright.”

“Is that an ‘Alright, I’ll do it’ or an ‘Alright, I understand’?”

Letting out a short laugh, he nodded. “Both.”

“Good!” Toni gave his hand another reassuring squeeze and looked over to Pepper. “Draw up the appropriate paperwork. He starts today.” Pepper merely nodded and Toni turned back to look at Steve. “Are you sure you’re alright with this? You don’t have to take this appointment if you don’t want to.”

“Of course I am,” Steve said without hesitation. “You know I would do anything for you, and if it frees you up in any way, you know I’d gladly help.”

“But…?”

Steve inhaled deeply. “I’m not sure I know exactly what is expected of me. I’m not exactly a secret spy type like Romanoff or Burton.”

“No, you’re not, but people don’t trust people like Nat or Clint, Steve. People trust you. It’s why job Fury brought you in the night you showed up at HQ. Alexander Pierce will trust you too. Promise.”

Steve gave her a bright smile with a nod. “I won’t let you down.”

“Oh, Steve,” Toni said, shaking her head and smiling brightly, “of everyone in the world, I know that you won’t let me down. I trust you more than anyone else. I wouldn’t give this responsibility to anyone other than you.”

Steve smiled in return, a bit more warmly though, and placed his other hand over hers that still held his. “I swear to serve you to the best of my utmost abilities, my Princess.”

His oath was unneeded, but she knew it was the most heartfelt and sincere oath she’d ever gotten. She never doubted he would give her any less though. She hadn’t been there when he’d taken his oath to serve Her when he’d joined the military, but she had no doubt he’d meant it any less. She knew this vow was more vocally heartfelt. She knew that he couldn’t have said his oath when joining the military nearly as sincerely, but she had no doubt he meant it any less so than he did now. She knew what serving Her meant to him. She had always known.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

Steve reached up with the hand he’d covered hers with and caressed her face softly. “You never have to thank me, Toni.”

“I know,” she said softly, tilting her head softly into his touch. “I never want you to doubt how much I cherish you though.”

“I never will,” he swore to her, leaning in and pressing his lips to hers.

They were able to enjoy the moment briefly before Pepper cleared her throat. “Well, then you’re late for your meeting, Captain.”

Steve sighed resting his head against Toni’s. “You’ll get use to it,” Toni told him softly. “She’s not that bad, really. You remember Jarvis, right?” she asked with a chuckle.

Chuckling, he pulled his head back. “I remember Jarvis, definitely.” Looking down at his food, he took a deep breath and looked back up at her. “Do I get to finish my breakfast?”

Toni nodded, smiling brightly. “Of course you do. Pierce has been waiting two months, he can wait a bit longer.”

“You’re hopeless.” Toni knew Pepper was rolling her eyes even without looking at her when she spoke.

“Let’s eat. Pep is happier when we actually do what she wants without having to ask more than once.”

Steve looked over at Pepper and nodded softly. “I’ll eat quickly.”

“Thank you,” she said, bowing her head slightly to Steve.

“Great!” Toni playfully scoffed, “Now she likes you more than she likes me.”

“Don’t let her guilt you, Steve,” Pepper countered, “I liked you more before you came back from the dead.”

“Oh! So that’s how it is?” Toni threw up her hands. “Treason, I call, treason!”

Steve shook his head, laughing. The sound of his laughter warmed Toni’s heart. She’d thought she’d never hear the sound of his laughter ever again. Yet, here he was, living, breathing and laughing. Toni couldn’t believe how fortunate she was. She knew she didn’t deserve this. Nothing in her life had she ever done would merit the love of her life returning to her in one piece. She wasn’t ever going to do anything to lose him. There wasn’t anything she wouldn’t do to make sure he was safe.

Steve finished his food faster than Toni did and she narrowed her eyes in on him. “So, was it my military that taught you to wolf down your meals like that, or was it the pirates?”

Steve wiped his mouth with his napkin and smiled over at her. “You don’t remember? I’ve always eaten quickly.”

Toni nodded gently. “I remember.”

He’d grown up poor. Whenever she’d been able to have him over to the Castle, he’d always eaten as though he was never getting another bite. She’d promised him time and time again that he’d never have to go hungry again. He’d guaranteed her that he’d never starved, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t stay true to that promise. He deserved the world, and she would give him anything. He deserved the world. He always had. There isn’t anything Toni wouldn’t do to make sure that he got everything and more.

“Happy can take you to meet with Pierce, Captain,” Pepper said, walking over and giving him a StarkTouch mini tablet. “You’ll have just enough time to go over all you’ll need to know before you meet with him.”

Toni reached over to take Steve’s wrist in her hand after wiping at the corners of her mouth with her napkin and placing it on the table. “Are you sure this is what you want?” She had given him the responsibilities and appointment without even discussing it with him beforehand. He deserved to at least have a say. Yes, she had asked already asked if he was sure and he had unnecessarily vowed his service to Her, but she still wanted him to be absolutely certain about it.

He smiled over at her, nodding his head resolutely. “I’m sure.”

“Keep that device with you,” Toni nodded at the device she’d personally designed herself, “It’ll configure your earcomm to me directly. I’ll call you when I’m free and I’ll meet you for lunch.” Toni hated that she had to leave him so soon after getting him back. “We can talk during the day too.”

“Oh,” Pepper shook her head, “I wouldn’t trust her with that, Steve. She plays dirty.”

“Dirty?”

Toni narrowed her eyes in on Pepper. “Do you value your job, Potts?”

“Oh yeah,” Pepper continued, completely ignoring Toni completely, “she’ll say all sorts of things to get you to lose your cool. Just mute her, I do.”

“Yeah, no holiday bonus,” Toni huffed (maybe not completely upset by the banter between her boyfriend and her assistant/ex girlfriend).

“Like we agreed,” Pepper nodded, arching an eyebrow at Toni before looking back to Steve, “we’ll compare notes.”

Toni just glared at them, leaning back in her seat. “Yeah, it’s official. You get your own personal assistant, Steve. I don’t like you and Pepper consorting behind my back.”

“We’re not going to go behind your back, Toni,” Pepper smirked, “you know us better than that.”

“You’re right,” Toni nodded, “I do. And I trust Steve not to give my exploits away. You on the other hand…”

“Hey,” Steve said, interjecting into the silence of the staring contest between Toni and her (Machiavellian) assistant, causing Toni to look over at him, a light in her eyes immediately replacing her mock annoyance for a bright smile. “I’ll talk to you later, yeah?”

Toni smiled even more brightly. Leave it to Steve to break up tensions, even faux ones, by being his adorable, sweet self. “Yes.”

Standing, Toni gave his hand a tight squeeze and leaned in to press her lips to his so she could kiss him deeply. She really did hate that they were being separated by her daily duties as ruler of her nation, but if she was going to prove to the council and her people, she had to do so by continuing on with things and execute every aspect of her royal responsibilities to the utmost of her ability.

“I love you,” she told him softly, looking deep into his eyes, really wanting nothing more than to stay there and get lost in the cerulean pools and not acknowledge her governing role, but she knew what was expected of her and she wanted nothing more than to prove her worth, not only to the council, but to her country as well.

Steve reached up and covered one of her hands on the sides of his face where she’d placed it. “I love you.”

Toni paused for a moment just to watch him. She couldn’t begin to put into words how happy she was to have him back. He was the love of her life, of her existence, she was happier than she ever thought she would ever be again. He was the reason for her happiness in the beginning and he was the one bringing happiness and light back into her life. There wasn’t anything she wouldn’t do to keep him safe.

“I’ll be on your earcomm soon,” she promised, staying just a moment longer before inhaling deeply and kissing him briefly. Reluctantly, she pulled away from him and walked over toward Pepper. If she didn’t put distance between the two of them, she wouldn’t be able to leave him.

“Happy is waiting at the front drive to take you to see Pierce,” Pepper told Steve before following Toni out of the room.

Toni fought hard not to run back into him and throw herself into his arms and declare she was never leaving his side again. She was never letting him out of her sight again, but she knew she had to go. No matter how scared she was to be away from him because of all the time that had spanned between them when he left for the war and then when she thought he was dead, she knew she still had to be her country’s sovereign. If she and Steve were going to have the future they wanted, she had to show that her country came first. What no one would see though, is while she’s putting it and her people first, what she was actually doing was putting Steve first. Showing she could be the ruler they need would ensure their happiness would ensure that. That’s why she was going to do this.

“I need a team on him, Pepper,” Toni said quietly. “He goes nowhere without a team on him, do you understand?”

“Yes, Toni. They’re already in place. I arranged it last night when you woke me up at 1 in the morning.”

Toni looked over at her and shook her head. “I’m sorry I woke you,” she said softly. “I wasn’t thinking.”

“You never do think, Toni. You’ve not been so rash since you were attacked, but I’m hoping that now that Steve is back, you won’t go back to doing things before you think.”

“Trust me, Pep,” Toni sighed, her shoulders slumping slightly, “there isn’t anything I’m going to do to take myself away from Steve. We’ve been away from each other for far too long. I’m not going to take this for granted. I love him, Pep. I have forever.”

Pepper smiled. “I really am happy he’s back, Toni. I’m really happy for you.”

Toni smiled brightly, nodding her acceptance of Pepper’s happy thoughts, and inhaled deeply. “Now, what’s on the rest of my agenda for the day?”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't even started the next chapter yet, but I figured I will upload when one is finished. Hoping to be able to get a chapter out every few days. Cross your fingers.


	7. The New Head of Hydra

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve meets with Alexander Pierce and learns more about Hydra than he bargains for.

Steve left the breakfast nook just after Toni and Pepper, smiling as he saw her Toni’s tiny frame followed by her long brown hair escape around a hallway down the long corridor. He really did admire how responsible she’d become. He’d always known that she could be like this, she just had to want to be. Smiling, he headed toward the front entrance of the Castle to meet Happy for him to take him to meet with … Alexander Pierce, he remembered the name of the man he had an appointment to meet with. He had no idea who the man was, but he knew the device Pepper had given him would tell him all he needed to know, not only about what he was going to meet with him about, but who the man was as well.

Keeping the StarkTouch (as he’d seen on the back of it indicating what it was called) in his hand, he headed down the hall and down the grand staircase to go outside. He quietly mused to himself that the StarkTouch had to be something of Toni’s designs. She used to always tell him of advancements of tech already released both from StarkTech and other technology companies and also ideas of her own. He loved her mind, he loved how quickly it worked. She had always been so incredibly smart and far more advanced than children her own age and even some several years older than her. He’d been awestruck by her from the moment she walked into his world.

He looked up from the device as he came to the front doors and the guards opened the doors for him. He nodded to each of them and they continued to stand at attention. Coming out into the brightness of the morning sun, he saw Happy standing at the bottom of the stairs.

“Happy Hogan,” Steve said, coming down the stairs to greet the older man.

“Good morning, Captain.” Happy nodded, greeting him with a cheerful smile and stepping out a few steps ahead of him to open the back door of the car waiting for Steve.

“Come on, Hap, call me Steve, please. I’m still the same little kid you used to drive around years ago with Toni.”

Happy sighed and opened the door for him. “Yes, you are, sir, but you’re also Captain Rogers and the Princess isn’t just that little girl anymore.”

“No, she’s not,” Steve agreed with a shake of his head as he slid into the back seat of the car.

He sat back against the seat in the car and pulled up the information on the StarkTouch in his hand as Happy shut the door and headed up to get in the front seat to drive them away. The first bit of information Steve came across was a mini biography about who Alexander Pierce was. He read about where he was from, his education, all the way to Nick Fury recruiting him into Stark’s Supreme Headquarters, International Espionage, Law-Enforcement Division. He noticed that it spelled out the same acronym that Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division did, the secret ops division that Toni created herself. He figured it helped communications with the acronym go unnoticed. She was smarter than most would give her credit for, but not Steve. He’d always known she could outthink anyone.

Next, he read up on how he’d been advanced to the original S.H.I.E.L.D.’s director. Fury had “died” and that had been the advancement sending him to the head of the division. Not long after his ascension, he brought down the leader of Hydra, a woman named Ophelia Sarkissian but more commonly known as Madame Hydra. He read the comments Toni had made concerning this takedown, stating that she believed “Alexander Pierce’s actions are an exemplary depiction of service for Marveland civilians and citizens alike. His bravery and uncompromised loyalty to the Crown confirms my confidence in him and am more than assured that his advancement to the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. is absolutely deserved.”

Steve smiled. He would never stop being amazed at her magnanimous presence over everything. She was going to be the best monarch the world has ever seen. He didn’t think he was biased in anyway. He saw it. He had seen it even when her father had been alive and not doing all he could have been doing to prepare her for the responsibilities she would have one day. All Steve had ever seen the King do is tell his daughter how a King is supposed to rule and how men are the ones who are supposed to rule countries. That didn’t deter Toni though. Steve could see that all it had done was make her tougher, make her resolve even stronger to be the monarch her country deserved and the monarch her father never believed she could be.

After finishing reading the biography Toni provided him on Pierce, he then read over what this briefing was about, the meeting he was heading to with Pierce. Apparently, after Pierce had taken down Madame Hydra, Hydra had been disbanded, but their attack on Toni’s life, using Hydra-issue specific explosives, had proved that they hadn’t been at all and he was going to be discussing what Pierce had learned about them since he’d taken down their leader. He’d had intelligence that they were planning something, though he didn’t know what at the time. They now knew it had been the attempt on the Princess’ life.

This was a significant responsibility Toni had given him, yet he knew it was only an mediary position, even if he was the head of it, he would still be reporting to Toni and the rest of her intelligence agencies, meaning Pierce and Fury and the rest of them out there. He couldn’t name any of the directors by name, but he knew about all of the agencies… at least the known ones. He knew Toni would apprise him of Her secret ones he wasn't aware of when needed.

“We’re here, sir,” Happy said from the front seat and Steve nodded, taking a deep breath.

WIthin a moment, Happy was opening the door for him and he stepped out, immediately met by a group of guards dressed in black suits. This was something he knew he was going to have to get used to. He knew if he told Toni he didn’t need it, she wouldn’t listen. She never did listen when she wanted something. This wasn’t too much for him to accept though. He knew she wanted him safe. He wouldn’t fight with her on that, because he’d do the same thing for her if he had the ability.

Happy lead all of them to the elevator not too far from where he’d parked the car and pushed the button for them all to go up. Steve took a deep breath, looking at each of them. He’d want to know each of them by their names and any other detail Toni could give him, but he would ask her later. However, as if she had known he’d want it, he received an email alert on his StarkTouch and opened it. It was from Toni. The StarkTouch was most likely on a private server of Stark Industries and he was sure only a few people had access to it. The devices would probably self destruct or something else to disable and disconnect the device and erase it should they get lost or stolen. Steve knew protocols.

Looking over the email, he saw a markup of all the guards standing around him, their names, ranks in Her service, and mini personal bios were connected to all of them. At the bottom of the message he found a personal message from Toni, telling him she loved him and she missed him already. As he stepped into the elevator, he replied to the message directly, telling her he missed her and that he loved her. He also thanked her again for trusting him with this new position. He knew he didn’t need to thank her, but he wanted to. He wanted her to know that he would and always has served Her beyond anything.

In his earcomm, he heard her whisper _“I love you.”_   He looked behind him and around. It had been so clear as though she had been right there with him in the elevator. Feeling like a lunatic, he laughed and looked back down at the StarkTouch. Lifting his hand up, he covered his mouth and whispered “I love you” back. He was sure he was blushing, so he kept his head down and waited for the elevator to open. Leave it to Toni to make him blush standing in an elevator full of royal guard officers.

He heard a giggle in the comm and shook his head. He loved her, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that was for certain. Somehow he was sure Pepper’s warning hadn’t even come to light yet. Toni would do far more over the comm just to see if Steve could keep his cool. He was determined to do so, but he also had to wonder just how far Toni would go. He wouldn’t put anything past her. He knew her better than anyone did.

The elevator opened to a pool of cubicles and Happy led Steve out of the elevator ahead of the rest of the royal guard detail forming a half circle around him. No one even looked up from their desks as they walked by and Steve assumed this must be business as usual on any given day. It was an intelligence agency. Task forces probably walked through in groups like this all the time. He wasn’t dressed like the rest, but he wasn’t severely underdressed. He wasn’t in a T shirt and jeans. His clothes were brand new, he speculated, and of very exquisite quality. He didn’t feel too out of place.

Happy approached a lady at a large wooden desk out side a window-walled office, though some type of shade or panel was drawn to prevent prying eyes, Steve presumed. “Captain Rogers to see Director Pierce,” Happy notified the woman who nodded and pressed a button on her desk that made a beep.

“Captain Rogers is here for the Princess, Director.”

 _“Thank you, Carla,”_   the voice replied through the box and Carla Smith looked up to address Steve instead of Happy.

“You may go in now; he’s been waiting for you.”

“We’ll wait out here,” Happy told Steve as he stepped back for Steve to go into the office.

Nodding, he slid the StarkTouch into his pocket and he walked over to the door. It opened as he came up to it and he came face to face with an older, strawberry blond man. He looked as though he should have greying at least around the temples from how old he appeared to be, but the coloring seemed natural and not senescent by any means.

“Captain Rogers!” the man said, holding his hand out to shake it. “I’m Alexander Pierce.”

Steve found the man offering his hand in greeting far more welcoming than the guards saluting him last night at Toni’s behest. He felt more at ease with shaking his hand. “Sir, I apologize for being so late.”

Pierce shook his head. “No apologies necessary, Captain. Please, come in.”

Steve took a deep breath and nodded as he stepped past the director into the room. He heard the door close behind him and he turned to face him. He would wait for Pierce to speak considering he had the information.

“I half expected the Princess to send an excuse as to why she wasn’t coming,” Pierce said, walking around behind his desk. The East River served as the view given from the office. “It was a pleasant surprise for Miss Potts to alert me to your arrival and new position. Congratulations.”

Steve nodded shortly. “Thank you, sir.”

He didn’t like the way Pierce referred to Toni. She was the Princess. He shouldn’t ever doubt her or question her or talk about her without all the respect he should have for Her. It angered him. Toni deserved respect more than anyone he knew. He could only imagine how difficult the responsibilities she had were. If more people would take that into consideration, they wouldn’t think of her the way Pierce seemed to.

“I do hope she briefed you on what we’re meeting about.” He sat in the seat behind his desk and gestured to one of the two seats on the other side, inviting Steve to sit.

Nodding, he sat down across the desk from the director. “Yes, I’ve been briefed.”

“Good, then at least we won’t have to waste half of the time we have bringing you up to speed. I had been ready to tell the Princess on the day we had originally planned to meet, the day she was attacked by Hydra, that I had reason to believe that they had not in fact been dismantled as we had thought. I’m not sure if you’re aware, but I was the one to actually apprehend their former leader, Madame Hydra.”

Steve didn’t like the smugness this man exuded, but he supposed to have taken down someone running an international terrorist organization, one should feel proud of their accomplishments. “I read that, yes.” He didn’t say more, wanting to hear what else the man had to say.

“She found out first hand what I’d been gathering intel on for months.” Steve wanted to ask why he hadn’t gone to Toni sooner, but he realized that even someone in Pierce’s position couldn’t get a meeting with her at the drop of a hat. He had to make an appointment and plan ahead. He was sure he’d been able to make the soonest appointment he could. “I haven’t been able to find any information on who their new leader is, but I haven’t stopped and won’t stop looking. We had a few really good leads for a while, but they’ve always come up as a dead end.”

“I read what the Princess said, about your instatement to S.H.I.E.L.D., Director. I have no doubt that you will do all you can to serve Her.” If Toni had faith in the man, he would too, even if he thought the man was a pretentious and pompous individual.

“That is why we’re all here, isn’t it? To serve and protect the Crown?”

“Yes…” Steve nodded, even if he hadn’t liked how he’d said that. Toni trusted him, he reminded himself, he needed to too. He wasn’t usually wrong about people. Even Montoya he hadn’t been wrong about. Yes, he was a pirate, yes his motives and his methods were deplorable by most people’s standards, even his, but he had known Montoya was a good man. Steve just had to equate the feeling he got from Pierce as nothing more than pompous and pretentious. He’d never really gotten along with those kinds of people.

Even Toni, someone who could be perceived as such, wasn’t. He was sure there were some people who saw her as King Howard’s spoiled daughter, but he’d never seen that side of her. Yes, she loved getting her own way, but she was far from selfish. No one as selfish as she was perceived to be would befriend a sickly child like Steve had been without no hidden agenda. She had been four when they’d met. Four-year-olds don’t have ulterior motives. They’d grown up together, been best friends. No one with the perceived notions of how she must be could or even would be friends with someone as poor or especially as sick as Steve had been.

Steve knew he’d been gone for quite a long portion of the time she’d been ruling Her country, but he still knew her better than anyone and no one would ever convince him that she was anything other than the person he knew. He knew they both had so much they needed to discuss, so much time had passed. Six years of their lives had been lost to the other and Steve wanted to know everything that had happened to her since he had gone missing. He wasn’t sure she'd want to know all that he’d done while he was with Montoya and the pirates, but he would tell her anything and everything she did want to know.

“Hydra is very elusive, Captain,” Pierce continued. “Having been able to capture Madame Hydra had been very fortuitous, but I believe if I was able to take her in, I can and will figure out who her successor is and bring them down as well.”

At least Steve believed that. Pierce’s resolve to take down Hydra was probably the most redeeming quality Steve could see in him. He didn’t like how harshly he was judging the man, it wasn’t his place to judge, but from the moment he’d stepped into the room with him and he disrespected Toni, he hadn’t seen anything redeeming about him except for his resolve to take down Hydra. He figured he’d focus on that and nothing else if he was going to see any good in him.

“I trust you plan to keep the Princess apprised of your plan and any steps forward you make.”

“Of course,” Pierce nodded, “that is why you are here, isn’t it?”

Steve sighed, nodding. He supposed that’s what his job was now. He basically had the highest form of clearance. It wasn’t necessarily what he had ever wanted, but he had long ago sworn he’d serve Toni in any and all ways he could. There was nothing he wouldn’t do for her. “Yes.” It was all he could think to say. This was a lot for him to take in. He hadn’t expected to be working for Her in this capacity, but then again, he hadn’t expected to come home and instantly be recruited into Her most secret special ops group.

Pierce leaned forward and typed at a few keys on the holographic panel keyboard on his desk, StarkTech, Steve noticed, and the image Pierce typed in appeared holographically above the desk. When Steve had left, Toni had told him about commissioning her R&D department for this type of technology, “bringing Star Wars tech to our time,” she’d said, but he’d not even seen a prototype before he’d left. Fury had used the tech at the other S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters. He’d loved seeing what Toni had only thought of back before he’d left for the war. He was sitting here in Pierce’s office in awe at it still.

Pierce laid out all the information he’d been able to acquire about Hydra, both from Madame Hydra herself and from other Hydra operatives they’d captured over the years. He explained how their organization worked (intel he’d gathered from Madame Hydra and all the other Hydra operatives) and all the measures he was implementing to dismantle them once and for all.

“I know about you, Captain,” Pierce said, turning his head slightly to the side. “I know about the pirates after al-Qaeda.” Steve narrowed his eyes in on him, having not expected that turn in the conversation. “Our most profound lead is a man we captured called Jacob Beech.” As he said the name, the file concerning him popped up on the holographic computer screen projection between the two of them.

“Am I supposed to know who that is?” Steve asked, reading through the bio that was displayed next to the man’s picture.

“Not likely,” Pierce said, leaning back in his seat. “He died just after you were taken captive. His last address was 1435 Elmhurst Drive. When I first met Nick Fury, the former Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., his mother lived at 1437..”

Steve looked up at him, not believing what he was hearing from this man.  “Are you saying Nick hired the pirates that took me? Why?”

There was a flash of… something Steve couldn’t explain in the man’s eyes. “You knew Nick?” It seemed to have caught him off guard. “The way you say his name…”

“Uh,” Steve shook his head. “No. I read up on him, of course.” Steve didn’t like lying, but he knew what it meant to protect the S.H.I.E.L.D. he was a part of, the S.H.I.E.L.D. Toni had created. He couldn’t compromise their anonymity, he couldn’t compromise the division.

Pierce nodded his head. “See, I think Nick is still alive. We interrogated Beech after bringing him in… he all but came right out and said that Nick had hired him.” It took all Steve had to remain silent. He didn’t believe what the man was saying at all, but what did he have to gain by telling him this. “In fact,” he nodded, “I think he’s the new leader of Hydra. His death was too… clean,” Pierce told him. “Like it was staged…” Pierce paused. It was as though he was letting the information sink into Steve consciousness. “I don’t want to believe it, Captain. Fury and I… He wasn’t just my Director, my direct commander in the Royal Intelligence Corps, or my closest friend.”

Steve nodded his head, understanding what Pierce was trying to tell him, but it only confused him more. Why would he want to throw the man he loved out to the dogs? He had to know what the allegations would mean for Fury if it was indeed true. Steve couldn’t believe it was though. It couldn’t be possible. He’d been working under Col. Fury for months now. Toni trusted him. If she trusted him, Steve knew he was clean. But what if he wasn’t… What if this man was actually telling the truth? There was no way of knowing what was true anymore.

Pierce stood up, turning to face the wall-length windows behind his desk. Steve stood as well, at attention, like the soldier he was would. “See, I joined S.H.I.E.L.D. not for any other reason than Nick asked me. I don’t want to believe that the man I trusted and thought I knew better than anyone else is capable of this.” He dropped his head slightly. “If Nick’s not dead, if he is where I think he is…” he sighed, turning to face Steve again, “I’m going to take him down, despite the history we share.”

Steve narrowed his eyes in on him. “I understand.”

Pierce hung his head again and Steve surmised that their meeting was over. He nodded his head, the curt soldier nod he was so used to giving, and turned to leave the office. He was more confused than he was sure he should be. He really wanted to know what telling him about his relationship with Fury had meant to prove. And what did he mean by knowing about him? Had he read up on him before he’d come to meet with him, like Steve had read up on him prior to the meeting, thanks to Toni?

He stepped out of the office to where Happy and the detail were waiting for him, like he’d expected. “Let’s go,” he nodded to Happy and headed back toward the elevator.

Happy remained a step behind him but close enough to speak to him so he could speak without being overheard. “Everything go ok in there?”

Steve simply looked back at him. Anything he had to say about the meeting, he didn’t want to say while he was still in the building. He didn’t feel as though he could trust Pierce, but he didn’t want to say that openly where anyone could hear. He simply gave Happy a quick nod and pressed the elevator button as he came up to it. He looked back at Happy again, simply looking at him and Happy seemed to understand, at least he didn’t seem to be inclined to question him. Steve was glad for that.

They stepped into the elevator and rode down in silence. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the StarkTouch to send another email to Toni letting her know that the meeting was over and he’d speak with her when he saw her. It wasn’t until they reached the basement that he received her reply back. It was a simple acknowledgement as well as her telling him she loved him. He smiled and slid the tablet back in his pocket. He understood she must be busy and was unable to write more.

Happy opened the door for him and shut it after he’d slid in. Once he was in the driver’s seat, he looked at him through the rear view mirror. “Ready to go, sir?”

Steve nodded. “Do you know where Toni is, Hap?”

Happy shook his head. “No, but if you type in Pepper Pott’s name in the “to” line on the email app, you can send a message to her and see if she can tell you.”

“Thank you,” he said, pulling the tablet back out. Doing as Happy suggested, he asked,  “Can you dismiss the guard detail and take me to Harlem?”

“Harlem, sir?”

“I need to see someone.” Steve took Happy’s questioning to mean that he didn’t know about The Avengers or the other S.H.I.E.L.D.

“I don’t think you should go in there without security.”

Steve sent Pepper the email asking about Toni and also asking if it was alright for Happy to take him into Harlem. It was only a brief moment before he received an answer back telling him that Toni was in a meeting with the council and that she says it’s alright for Happy to take him. “Toni says that you can come with me to Harlem.”

Happy sighed but nodded his head. “Yes, sir.” Happy tapped his Bluetooth at his ear. “Return to the Castle. I’m with the Captain.”

Steve nodded his head, smiling at him. “Thank you, Happy.”

Happy gave him a slight nod. “Does going to Harlem have anything to do with what you and Director Pierce discussed, sir?”

“Yes,” he answered shortly. Another email came in from Pepper and he read it, taking a deep breath. Pepper said that even if Toni is alright with Happy knowing about Harlem, Pepper herself wanted Steve to make sure he was safe. _He can take care of himself, but sometimes he doesn’t think. Please keep him close to you at all times._ Sighing, he replied back to her with a soft smile on his face. _You take care of my girl, I’ll take care of your guy._ It was all he could do to protect the man he could tell Pepper loved. He knew that Toni could take care of herself, but he also had a pretty good notion that Pepper would watch out for her as well, even if only by serving as a moral compass, her conscience, something he wouldn’t deny Toni needed.

Steve knew that Toni was a lot like Pepper described Happy, doing things without thinking. He could count several times when they were growing up how she had evaded her guards just to hang out with him and Bucky. Granted, neither Bucky nor Steve would let anything happen to her, but she always knew she’d have to answer to her father, the King, when she’d get home. Steve hated the way the King treated Toni. He hated thinking ill of the dead, but he was honestly glad the man was dead and Toni didn’t have to live with the insufferable bastard any longer.

Toni had deserved far more than what she’d been given in the way of parents. He knew her mother loved her, he had seen it, but she had been too busy being Queen, being the dutiful wife to Howard, to really spend time with Toni. She did what she could and took her on the appearances she had to make as Queen that she was able to, like the hospital event when she had brought Toni and the two of them had met, but being Queen took Maria away from Toni far more than Steve thought was needed. Then again, his mother took him to work with her, for several reasons, but they were closer than most children and parents were and had spent more than a great deal of their time together. Toni hadn’t had that with her parents.

He remembered that when Toni was really young, she wanted attention from her father. She would do things to get attention from him. When she got older she would act out because any attention was good to her. When he was scolding her for her actions and behavior, she had drank it up, knowing it was all she could get from him. That didn’t last long though. Toward the last few years of her parents’ lives, she stopped vying for their time and attention. Steve was glad she had him to come to when she needed attention, which was often, and he would always give it to her. The right kind. He didn’t use her. He didn’t neglect her. He didn’t objectify her. He wouldn’t. She wasn’t the Princess to him. She was just his best friend. He gave her what she wanted, what she needed, because she deserved it. He always would do that for her no matter what.

He hadn’t even noticed the fifteen minute drive to Harlem go by as quickly as it had, Happy having taken FDR Drive, and the car was slowing.  “We’re here, sir. In Harlem. What’s the address?”

Steve took a deep breath. “Lenox Avenue,” he told him, sliding the tablet he still realized he hadn’t put away in his pocket. Sitting forward a bit, he wondered how he was going to approach Fury about all of this. He trusted the man, that was saying something, he knew, because he’d trusted Montoya despite the fact that he was a pirate. He knew that he couldn’t continue to trust Fury if it turns out that Pierce was indeed correct in his allegations. If what Pierce said was true, Fury had ordered the attack on Toni’s life. That was something he’d never forgive anyone for. Toni was the Princess, but most importantly, she was everything to him. He wouldn’t let Hydra, nor Fury if he did turn out to be the puppetmaster in all of this, get away with it.

“Take the first left after crossing Lenox Avenue. 126th Street. There’s an driveway just short of 136 you can pull into to park.”

Happy followed the instructions easily. He drove slowly down 126th and found the driveway just shy of the address Steve had given him. Happy cut the engine off and turned his head to look back to Steve.

“Now what, Captain?”

“We go inside,” he told him. “Stay close to me. Don’t ask anyone but me anything. Understood?”

Steve easily slipped into commander mode when he needed to. Happy nodded and got out of the car, but Steve didn’t care to have him continue doing his duty here and opened the door for himself. Happy still took it once it was fully open and looked directly at Steve. The man was the same height as him, Steve noticed, having not noticed before this moment. He didn’t seem that tall, but right up next to him, he was looking him squarely in the eyes.

“Stay close,” Steve reminded him and, giving him a nod in response.

Happy shut the car door behind him and Steve led him a few feet down the driveway to where a set of stairs descended half a level to a door at the basement level of this brownstone building. He wrapped his hand around the handle and the DNA scanner built into the handle scanned his hand before unlocking the door so he could open it. He stepped in and let Happy follow before shutting the door. It instantly locked behind them and Steve waited for Happy to fall in line with him before leading him in through the building.

He still wasn’t sure how his earcomm worked, even if the process and technology had been explained to him, he still just knew that he talked and they heard. Though with the StarkTouch, it must have overridden it’s S.H.I.E.L.D. configuration just to connect him to Toni… and possibly Pepper, but he wasn’t altogether sure of that. All he knew was that he spoke and he was connected to who he wanted to talk to.

“Fury?” he asked quietly.

_“Hey, Cap. Didn’t expect to see you back so soon. I trust the Princess approved the presence of your little friend.”_

Of course Fury had seen them. He always knew everything. “Yes. You got a minute?”

_“I’m in my office.”_

Steve nodded and led Happy to the elevator to take them up to the top floor. He needed some answers, and since Toni was busy, he decided he’d collect more information before seeing her later. He was still sure he could trust Fury and he wasn’t the new leader of Hydra. He’d only known the man a few short months, but he had a sense about people. He just knew, unquestionably, the people he could trust from the people he couldn’t.

The elevator opened and Steve looked over at Happy, nodding at him, he headed down the hall toward Fury’s office with Happy only a step behind him. Steve knocked on the door before hearing Fury’s acknowledgement to come in. Steve reached for the handle and opened the door for both of them to enter. Stepping inside, Happy paused and Steve looked over at him. He must have known who he is.

“It’s alright,” Steve assured him. “You’re at the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement Logistics Division, the Princess’ personal special ops program. Nick Fury, as you can see, is not dead and he heads it up. The rundown streets you know that Harlem has become, it’s only a facade. All the people out there are the new S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. Toni started it and has sanctioned everything that goes on here.”

Happy simply nodded and Steve looked over to Fury who had just sat at his desk simply waiting. “What can I do for you today, Cap?”

“I’ve just met with Alexander Pierce,” he started, walking in to stand across the desk from Fury, Happy stayed at the door, shutting it for privacy.

“Why don’t you two have a seat,” Fury offered, gesturing to the two seats across his desk from where he sat.

Steve looked over at Happy and nodded. Happy walked more into the room and Steve took one seat, leaving the other for Happy to sit beside him. He looked across the table, trying for another countless time to try to read his face, coming up with nothing. He’d only known him for a few months, but he realized early on that he wasn’t one you could read, pretty much like Romanoff. Prerequisite to being a super spy, he wondered idly to himself.

“He leveled some pretty heavy accusations against you, Colonel. I want to believe that I haven’t judged you wrongly and you can’t have possibly done what he’s alleging.”

“Spit it out, Captain,” Fury said, shaking his head. “Unless you need to speak to the Princess about it first…” His words hung there in the air for a bit before he leaned forward. “However, I don’t believe you would have come here before speaking with her unless you already have?” He continued without even pausing, leading Steve to somehow conclude that Fury already knew the answer. “So, share with me what my old friend and former deputy director has accused me of.”

“He says he has evidence that links you to my abduction in Afghanistan, that you not only commissioned the al-Qaeda operatives to overtake my unit, but the pirates who interceded the effort and killed my men and were supposed to have killed me.”

“Those are some pretty hefty allegations. Is that all?”

Steve honestly couldn’t tell if he was being smug or honestly awaiting more. “He says you were behind the attack on the Princess’ life as well.”

“Ah, there it is. I’m the head of Hydra now, am I?”

Steve could tell he was now playing with him and he didn’t like it. Steve simply remained staring at him. Out of his enhanced peripheral vision, he could see Happy’s seriously intent eyes darting back and forth between Steve and the man across from them. He hadn’t shared with him any of the information he’d learned from Pierce, but he knew Toni trusted him with her life, he could be trusted with this information, all he’d been presented with since they’d arrived there in Harlem.

“What do you think, Cap? Do you think that Princess Antonia would allow me to be sitting right here in her special ops division if she didn’t trust me explicitly?”

“It wouldn’t be the first time someone has erroneously trusted someone.”

Fury nodded his head. “So, the list of charges against me are quite serious. I have no doubt you will go to the Princess with this information. My question is, why tell me first?”

“I hoped you’d tell me it wasn’t true.”

“I think you already know the answer to whether it is or isn’t.”

Steve’s shoulder’s slumped. “Doesn’t mean I’m still not going to the Princess with it.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less.”

Steve nodded. “Yes, sir.” He inhaled, standing, Happy standing with him a split second later. The meeting was essentially over. “Is there anything you need, sir, since I am here?” He continued on as though business was usual. He did actually trust the man, and even if he didn’t, he’d still need to keep a close eye on the man, make sure he wasn’t actually doing anything duplicitous against the Crown and Toni specifically.

“No,” Fury shook his head. “You’re free to go, Captain.”

Steve turned, nodding his head to Happy shortly before leading him from the room. He heard Happy shut the door behind them and continue to follow him down the hall, back to the elevator. The elevator opened for them and Natasha Romanoff stepped out. Happy froze and Steve turned to look at him.

“Natalie...?”

Steve noted that Happy looked as white as a sheet. He hadn’t realized Happy would see anyone he’d recognize there. He’d seemed to handle seeing Fury alright, even if it had caused him a momentary pause; this was completely different.

Natasha’s eyes flashed to Steve. “What’s he doing here?”

“Iron Maiden approved access,” Steve assured her, but didn’t take his eyes off Happy. He was afraid the man was going to pass out. He was sure he wasn’t even breathing. “Happy?”

Happy blinked, looking over to Steve quickly and then back to Natasha as though he was trying to confirm that she was actually standing there and that Steve actually saw her too. “Ummm…”

“It’s ok, Happy, she’s real.”

Happy continued blinking. “I saw you die… I held your lifeless body in my arms…”

“I’m going to kill you, Rogers,” Natasha said (and Steve was sure it wasn’t completely a half-hearted threat), returning her eyes to focus on Happy again. “It’s ok, Happy," she gave him a smile. "It’s me. I’m alive.”

Happy reached out to touch her face, but seemed to think better of it, his hand reaching out and gripping at the redhead’s toned arm instead. “I saw you die…”

The super spy’s face was softer than Steve had ever remembered seeing it. He thought she didn’t have an emotion beyond stoicism other than sarcasm. Her hand covered Happy’s and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I’ve got to be somewhere, Happy. I’m sorry. It’s really nice to see you again though,” she nodded, giving him a smile (a real, honest to goodness smile, Steve realized, seriously shocked).

Happy’s face looked pained as he pulled his hand back. He gave a short nod, trying to smile as well, but Steve could see how difficult it was for him. “Bye…”

Natasha took a deep breath and leaned forward to press her lips softly against the side of his mouth, kissing him briefly before pulling back and moving to step aside him, between him and Steve. Steve didn’t miss the glare she gave him, even as briefly as it was before she was passed them and continued on toward Fury’s office. Steve shook his head and looked back at Happy, lifting his hand to the man’s back, causing Happy to jump slightly.

“Are you alright, Happy?”

Steve saw the Adam’s apple shift upward in Happy’s throat as he swallowed before slowly nodding. “Yeah… Can we go?”

“Sure.”

He walked forward with Happy, his hand still lightly resting on the man’s back. He wasn’t sure what the two of them had had before, but it seemed to be significant if Romanoff was smiling and kissing him and Happy was obviously shaken over it. The elevator door shut and he felt Happy practically deflate under his touch as the man stepped forward, his head coming to rest against the back wall of the elevator.

“I’ve stepped into an afterlife universe, haven’t I?”

Steve shook his head, his hand dropping to his side. “No,” he said gently. “All of these S.H.I.E.L.D. agents are ‘dead,’ Happy, ghosts, people who don’t or shouldn’t exist anymore for one reason or another, but they’re all here because Toni set this division up for them, for herself, to fight against oppositional forces like Hydra. Natasha…” he shook his head, remembering Happy had called her by another name, “uh, Natalie, she’s actually an Avenger.”

Happy’s head quickly turned to face Steve, color flushing back to his face. “An Avenger? The vigilante group?”

“Only seemingly vigilante. The Princess created them and is actually our leader. She’s the Iron Maiden.”

“You know, Rogers,” Happy said, exhaling slowly, “if I didn’t know you, if I didn’t know that the Princess trusted you as much as she did, I’d call treason on you and this whole operation. As it is..” he sighed, inhaling deeply and letting the sentence trail off.

“She wouldn’t have approved you bringing me here if she didn’t trust you with all of this either, Happy.”

Understanding washed over his face and he seemed to visibly collect himself in front of Steve. “You’re right. Thank you.”

Steve nodded, letting a smile cross his face as the elevator door opened to the basement floor they’d entered on. The StarkTouch in his pocket alerted him to an email and he slid it out to read it as they walked down the hall to the door to the driveway. _Lunch?_   Toni asked through the email. He smiled, replying back, _Tell me where and Happy and I will meet you there._ He looked over to Happy as he opened the door.

“Hungry? Lunch with Toni and Pepper?”

Happy followed Steve up the few stairs to the driveway after the door was securely shut behind them. “I could eat.”

“Good,” Steve nodded and gave the man a smile.

He understood how what had happened upstairs with Natasha had to have affected him, even if he had no idea the extent, but he was glad to see that he’d recovered so quickly and seemingly easily. He’d always thought Happy had strong constitution. What he’d seen between him and Natasha had barely chinked that composition and he bounced back fairly quickly. He’d always seen Happy as infallible, but today he’d seen a different side of him. He was human. It made him admire him even more.

 

 


End file.
